IVEL, Ky. (AP) - Smoke was still rising Tuesday from a smoldering subdivision where a fiery gas line explosion the day before destroyed five homes, injured nine people and served as a poignant reminder to Kentucky residents of the hazards of living near natural gas pipelines.
``These things you just don't think about,'' said Terry Hall, whose home was toppled by the explosion. ``It's definitely a concern now.''
Residents of the Rolling Acres subdivision were ordered to leave their homes until repairs were made to the underground line used to transport natural gas liquids to a plant in South Shore where they're turned into various fuels including butane and propane.
Two people who were burned in the explosion at Ivel remained hospitalized Tuesday, including an off-duty Kentucky State Police trooper who helped rescue a woman and a small child.
Gov. Ernie Fletcher visited Trooper Rick Conn at Cabell-Huntingon Hospital in Huntington, W.Va. on Tuesday.
``Although he was facing life-threatening injuries, he put the needs of others ahead of his own and saved the lives of two people,'' Fletcher said. ``I was honored to personally thank Trooper Conn for his bravery and selfless sacrifice, and to reassure his wife and family of Kentucky's appreciation.''
Conn suffered second- and third-degree burns. He was in fair condition, a state police dispatcher at the Pikeville post said. James Fulks was in serious condition at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, said hospital spokeswoman Mary Margaret Colliver.
Seven other residents of the subdivision were treated for minor injuries at local hospitals.
The 4-inch transmission line that ruptured belongs to Kentucky-West Virginia Gas Co., a division of Equitable Gas in Pittsburgh, but is operated by Colorado-based Mark West Hydrocarbon. The cause of the explosion was still unknown.
Floyd County Sheriff John Blackburn said the subdivision still had not been deemed safe for the 22 dislocated families to return. He said Wednesday would be the earliest they would be permitted back into their homes.
Some, Blackburn said, will be hesitant to return unless the transmission line is rerouted around the tidy neighborhood off U.S. 23 south of Prestonsburg. However, state police Trooper Scott Hopkins, the designated media contact for investigators, said plans now are only to replace the line through the neighborhood.
Kentucky has some 8,242 miles of transmission pipelines crisscrossing the state, often running through residential areas, said Andrew Melnykovych, spokesman for the Public Service Commission.
``On top of that, there are literally tens of thousands of miles of distribution pipelines,'' he said. ``Distribution lines inherently are in residential areas.''
Kentucky ranks 19th among the 50 states in production of natural gas, said Jeff Eshelman, spokesman for the Independent Petroleum Association of America.
Hall said Rolling Acres, developed in the 1970s about 20 years after the gas line was installed, is a peaceful, quiet neighborhood, where the biggest concern in the past was flooding on the nearby Big Sandy River.
Damon Hill, spokesman for U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Pipeline Safety, said the fire continued to burn on Tuesday.
``Once the fire is out, we'll be able to get to the pipe and take a look at the failed section to see what caused this,'' he said.
Hill said the leak occurred under a driveway in the subdivision.
``Once this fire is finally extinguished, we're going to take all the precautions to make sure the pipe is repaired and returned to service under our regulatory standards.''
Melnykovych said explosions like the one in Ivel are infrequent.
The last one in Kentucky was in November 2003 when a natural-gas transmission line exploded in rural Bath County, shooting flames hundreds of feet into the air. No one was injured and no property damage was reported when the Texas Eastern Transmission line ruptured.
Melnykovych said the line in Ivel is made of steel and was installed in the 1950s. He said the line crosses 81 miles of eastern Kentucky.
``The overwhelming majority of pipeline accidents are caused by someone contacting the pipeline while doing some sort of excavation,'' he said. ``That damage may not be immediately apparent and could rupture years later.''
Tom FitzGerald, head of Kentucky Resources Council, said pressurized transmission lines always pose a risk of rupturing.
``Older steel lines, if they don't have protection against corrosion, can have weaknesses in the joints or weaknesses in the lines themselves,'' he said.
FitzGerald said problems arise when the lines rupture in residential areas.
``It's not very common that you have these kinds of ruptures,'' he said. ``Even if they are infrequent occurrences, they can lead to tragic consequence. There is a real need for constant vigilance in the monitoring of them.''
