Copper theives cause gas explosion. See Video

Scary moment.See link above for story. Scroll down for link to video..

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) has released CCTV footage of the moment a build-up of gas exploded only yards from firefighters and the residents they had rescued seconds earlier. WYFRS took the step as a ‘shock’ warning to potential thieves about the dangers of tampering with electricity and gas equipment.

When fire crews responded on 8 July to reports of a small kitchen fire in a terrace of six houses in Castleford, West Yorkshire, they found instead a series of small fires. The explosion occurred seconds after the firefighters had completed the evacuation of around 30 occupants from the houses, two of whom were rescued by ladder from upstairs bedrooms.

Captured by ‘silent witness’ cameras attached to the fire appliances, the footage clearly shows the moment of the explosion, which ripped through the row of houses. No serious injuries were sustained and one firefighter was taken to hospital with minor cuts. Two houses were partly demolished and the remaining four suffered extensive fire and blast damage. The electricity supply to 63 properties and the gas supply to 55 properties were disrupted.

The fires and blast were caused by thieves cutting cable from an overhead line to extract the copper. This interfered with the earthing of the area’s electrical network and affected gas pipes within the properties. A 27-year-old man from the area was arrested on suspicion of the theft and has since been released on bail pending further inquiries.

‘If the house had exploded only seconds earlier, it would have killed or seriously injured the occupants and the firefighters who were risking their lives to rescue them’ warned Ian Bitcon, senior operations response officer at WYFRS. Cable theft had already caused one fatality in the area, he said.

This message is reinforced by West Yorkshire Police, CE Electric UK ­– which deals with around five incidents of metal theft a day – and Northern Gas Networks, which described the footage as a clear message to thieves about the dangers and threat to life for the sake of a few pounds.

The footage can be viewed at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1B1yBeEox8