Manitowoc Fire Chief Todd Blaser reflected recently on the dangers of natural gas leaks and buildup inside structures, following an explosion in Sun Prairie. That blast killed an off-duty firefighter and leveled portions of a city block in the southern Wisconsin community near Madison. Blaser said on WOMT’s Be-My-Guest program, natural gas contains a “flammable vapor that’s looking for an ignition source.”
And, when it’s inside a house or other building, Blaser says.
The Manitowoc fire chief added, “it takes just a little bit of a spark (to ignite) because the natural gas is at its’ explosive limit level.” In the Sun Prairie explosion construction workers had punctured a WE Energies natural gas line on a downtown street.