lipripr
01-23-2008, 03:59 AM
Six bug foggers detonate inside house, blast roof off
GALVESTON — Six bug foggers detonated inside a house Monday, blasting the roof off and causing what officials called significant structural damage.
The blast occurred about 1 p.m. in a small house in the 5400 block of Avenue P1?2. A resident there had left six foggers working inside the house, but apparently had not turned off the pilot lights in the house. The vapor ignited when it reached the kitchen stove’s pilot light, fire Batallion Chief B. Streck said.
Gina Carubba, who lives across the street, said, “I thought someone crashed into the porch. That’s what it felt like.”
Her son and his friend, who were outside playing, saw the flash of the explosion. Carubba said she called 911 after the kids told her about seeing the flash. She said she was afraid it was a gas leak.
No one was inside the home at the time of the explosion, as the residents had gone to a relative’s home while the fogger worked, and firefighters reported no injuries.
However, damage to the home was pervasive, and the blast knocked the roof from the house. Although it landed back on top of the house after flying inches into the air, nothing but gravity was keeping it in place.
Streck said people who used foggers for pest control should strictly follow the instructions for the number of foggers needed, depending on a structure’s size. He also said anyone using a fogger should put out all pilot lights before activating them.
GALVESTON — Six bug foggers detonated inside a house Monday, blasting the roof off and causing what officials called significant structural damage.
The blast occurred about 1 p.m. in a small house in the 5400 block of Avenue P1?2. A resident there had left six foggers working inside the house, but apparently had not turned off the pilot lights in the house. The vapor ignited when it reached the kitchen stove’s pilot light, fire Batallion Chief B. Streck said.
Gina Carubba, who lives across the street, said, “I thought someone crashed into the porch. That’s what it felt like.”
Her son and his friend, who were outside playing, saw the flash of the explosion. Carubba said she called 911 after the kids told her about seeing the flash. She said she was afraid it was a gas leak.
No one was inside the home at the time of the explosion, as the residents had gone to a relative’s home while the fogger worked, and firefighters reported no injuries.
However, damage to the home was pervasive, and the blast knocked the roof from the house. Although it landed back on top of the house after flying inches into the air, nothing but gravity was keeping it in place.
Streck said people who used foggers for pest control should strictly follow the instructions for the number of foggers needed, depending on a structure’s size. He also said anyone using a fogger should put out all pilot lights before activating them.