SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — Nearly 18 months after a teenage boy was killed when a natural gas explosion ripped through his South Jordan home, the final report into the incident highlights what changes have been made since, and the importance of gas alarms.
The report issued last week by the National Transportation Safety Board focused on the November 6, 2024 explosion that killed 15-year-old Logan Hansen. While many of the details in the report have been previously reported, the NTSB shared the lessons learned since the deadly incident.
In the days leading up to the incident, family members had experienced flu-like symptoms and headaches, as well as issues with a basement water heater.
According to the report, the Hansen family was unsuccessful in attempting to relight the water heater's pilot late the day before the explosion. In addition, the night before, a family member lit a candle and noticed it had an "unusually high flame," and quickly extinguished it.
Home security camera captures South Jordan home explosion below:
After a 21-hour search following the incident, Enbridge discovered the explosion was caused by a leak in a 4-inch Aldyl A polyethylene natural gas main about 150 feet from the home. The crack in the pipe, which was installed in 1976, was likely caused by "rock impingement," the report said.
"...the crack growth features indicated that the crack breached the outer surface in a single abrupt event. As a result, the pipe rapidly transitioned from releasing no gas to releasing up to 48.7 scrm (standard cubic feet per minute)," according to the report.
The NTSB believes the natural gas may have been in the Hansens' home for at least three days before the explosion, and that the furnace was the source of ignition.
Although the report noted that Enbridge had conducted periodic leak surveys before the incident and responded in a timely manner to odor complaints, the NTSB said the leak occurred "too rapidly, causing the leak to go undetected before the explosion."
In a section of the report titled "Lessons Learned," the NTSB reiterated the importance of natural gas alarms inside homes to alert those inside of possible dangers.
Drone video below shows South Jordan house after explosion:
The section also noted that Enbridge had made several changes to its evaluation of Aldyl A pipe since the accident, and completed leak surveys of all its Aldyl A gas piping with a threat of cracking.
"All immediate leaks were evaluated and repaired," the report said.
Enbridge has also set out to replace all high-risk Aldyl A piping.
The lot where the Hansens' home was once located remains empty, and the family is suing Enbridge for negligence in Logan's death. The lawsuit accuses the company of being negligent in maintaining the line, as well as failing to detect and fix the leak.
In November, on the anniversary of Logan's death, his brother, Jordan, spoke with FOX 13 News about how the family has dealt with the tragic loss.
"My family lost everything that day,” said Jordan. “Not only lost my brother, but they lost everything that they’ve ever built in their life."
