All Centreville residents displaced by the natural gas leak that resulted in a house explosion and fire on Feb. 15 have now been cleared to return home.
Washington Gas says it restored gas service to the 19 remaining evacuated homes by 10 p.m. on Tuesday (Feb. 24), and the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department (FCFRD) has now lifted its evacuation order after detecting no gas in the environment for 48 consecutive hours.
Residents have started to return to the Centreville neighborhood that was evacuated last week after a gas leak fueled an explosion and fire that consumed one home.
As of noon yesterday (Sunday), Washington Gas has restored service to 44 homes determined to be clear for re-entry, 42 of which have seen occupants return, the utility said in an afternoon update.
Authorities are still working to stabilize and identify the exact source of the natural gas-related home explosion in Centreville on Sunday (Feb. 15). The ongoing leak has led to days-long evacuations and gas service shutoffs for nearby homes.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates gas transmission pipeline incidents, is leading the federal investigation into the home explosion.
Cami Minks was getting ready for bed in her Centreville home on a quiet Sunday night, when suddenly, her house vibrated from the sound of an enormous explosion.
“I thought it was a bomb,” Minks, a resident of the Belle Pond neighborhood, recalled. “It was that loud. It shook everything.”
Dozens of Centreville residents are still unable to return home almost a day after a fiery explosion possibly fueled by a natural gas leak rocked their neighborhood.
The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department responded around 9:48 p.m. yesterday (Sunday) to the 14300 block of Quail Pond Court in the Belle Pond Farm neighborhood after receiving multiple calls about “a loud explosion.”
A driver who managed to crash onto the Metro tracks from I-66 in Dunn Loring has been taken to a hospital.
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units were dispatched around 11:24 a.m. today (Wednesday) for a crash off I-66 prior to the Cedar Lane bridge.
Students at Justice High School will be heading home early today (Tuesday) after a gas leak was detected this morning.
Washington Gas crews were sent to the school in Lake Barcroft (3301 Peace Valley Lane) around 8 a.m. after receiving a report of a natural gas odor.
Two dogs sustained grave injuries today (Thursday) in a West Springfield house fire.
The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department responded to a middle-unit townhome in the 5800 block of Rexford Drive shortly after 10 a.m.
A Mount Vernon church suffered a roof collapse Monday (Feb. 2), as Northern Virginia continues to navigate the aftermath of a winter storm and historic freeze.
Fairfax County firefighters responded to St. George Tigray Orthodox Tewahdo Church on Cooper Road shortly before 5:20 p.m., and were greeted by a “roof and floor failure” of the two-story building.
A fire that appears to have been fueled by natural gas blazed through two Franconia townhouses last night (Sunday), leaving the residence in ruins but its occupants apparently unharmed.
Several Fairfax County Fire and Rescue units responded to the 6500 block of Gladys May Lane in the Enclave at Long Branch neighborhood around 9:09 p.m. for the fire, which started in one unit near the end of a townhouse row before “quickly spreading” to an adjacent unit, according to the fire department.
