Gas explosion in South Manchester raises spectre of service disconnection issue.
National Federation of Demolition Contractors president David Darsey has made the issue of service disconnections one of the cornerstones of his two-year presidency; and not a moment too soon. The disconnection of water, gas and electricity services prior to demolition is one that has plagued the industry for many years; and continues to be a major issue as this latest incident in South Manchester highlights all too vividly.
According to reports in the South Manchester Reporter, an explosion which blew apart a block of luxury flats was sparked when a workman cut through a live gas pipe which he thought had been disconnected, we can reveal today.
It is understood that urgent investigations are underway to find out why developers P.J. Livesey, who are refurbishing Didsbury Gate, wrongly believed there was no gas in the pipes.
The company said the building had been bought from the NHS ‘on the understanding it had been safely decommissioned with all previous services stopped’. None of the occupied flats had connected gas supplies.
But a spokesman for the National Grid said P.J. Livesey had not checked with them whether there were active pipes in the building – in breach of normal protocol. “We believe the incident was caused by damage to a live gas pipe on the site,” said the spokesman.
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