Firestone Explosion Spurs Lawsuit

The first lawsuit has been filed in connection with the natural gas explosion that leveled a Firestone home, killing two people, last month. The suit, filed by neighbors of the home on Twilight Avenue, seeks damages from builders and natural gas companies.

The April 11 explosion killed Mark Martinez and Joey Irwin as they worked on a water heater in the basement. It was caused by a leak of an refined odorless gas, a report released earlier this month found.

The gas entered the house through a French Drain and Sump Pit because of a cut, abandoned gas flow line attached to an oil and gas well in the vicinity that, while abandoned, had not been disconnected from the wellhead and capped, according to the report.

The suit charges that the companies failed to make sure that the well was safe after they stopped using it. The family says they have suffered severe anxiety and mental anguish.

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Andarko, which owns the well, does not comment on pending litigation.

After the explosion, the company announced that they were shutting down 3,000 of their older wells in the state until they could be inspected again.

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