A Hayward, California neighborhood was left reeling after a devastating explosion ripped through a home, sending shockwaves throughout the area and leaving six people injured. The blast occurred at approximately 9:38 a.m. in the 800 block of East Lewelling Boulevard, where workers were using an excavator to dig when the gas line ruptured.
Footage from a nearby resident's doorbell camera shows the moments leading up to the explosion, as flames engulfed the home and windows shattered, sending debris flying everywhere. The blast was so powerful that it knocked people off their feet, leaving them dazed and disoriented.
"It just... everything shook," said Brittany Maldonado, who captured the footage on her camera. "Stuff fell off the walls and when we looked at the camera, it was like you were watching a war video."
Two homes were impacted by the explosion and fire, with one workshop in the back of one home sustaining significant damage. Another nearby residence had some damage to its side facing the blast zone.
Fire officials have confirmed that two of the six injured victims were workers on the scene when the explosion occurred. The remaining four were taken to Eden Medical Center, where three are reported to be in serious condition.
PG&E and Cal/OSHA are leading investigations into the cause of the rupture, while other agencies such as the NTSB have also been called in to assist.
The question on everyone's mind is why residents in the area weren't immediately evacuated. According to PG&E spokesperson Tamar Sarkissian, the company had stopped the flow of gas at 9:25 a.m., and it's a "process" that takes time to isolate damaged lines.
However, fire expert Richard Meier says this timeline raises questions about how quickly gas companies can respond in emergency situations. "To me, it's not reasonable; it's understandable why it takes them so long," he said. "But I don't think it is reasonable in that they could do a better job identifying the locations where their valves are and put them in more accessible places."
Another major concern is why first responders didn't evacuate the area themselves, despite the presence of a known gas leak. Alameda County Fire Deputy Chief Ryan Nishimoto explained that his crew arrived on scene before PG&E had finished stabilizing the situation, but they did not smell or detect any gas.
"This is the responsibility of the gas company to evacuate people in the event of a known leak," Meier emphasized. "They can't just push that off onto the fire department. What if no one had called the fire department and they're the only ones there?"
Footage from a nearby resident's doorbell camera shows the moments leading up to the explosion, as flames engulfed the home and windows shattered, sending debris flying everywhere. The blast was so powerful that it knocked people off their feet, leaving them dazed and disoriented.
"It just... everything shook," said Brittany Maldonado, who captured the footage on her camera. "Stuff fell off the walls and when we looked at the camera, it was like you were watching a war video."
Two homes were impacted by the explosion and fire, with one workshop in the back of one home sustaining significant damage. Another nearby residence had some damage to its side facing the blast zone.
Fire officials have confirmed that two of the six injured victims were workers on the scene when the explosion occurred. The remaining four were taken to Eden Medical Center, where three are reported to be in serious condition.
PG&E and Cal/OSHA are leading investigations into the cause of the rupture, while other agencies such as the NTSB have also been called in to assist.
The question on everyone's mind is why residents in the area weren't immediately evacuated. According to PG&E spokesperson Tamar Sarkissian, the company had stopped the flow of gas at 9:25 a.m., and it's a "process" that takes time to isolate damaged lines.
However, fire expert Richard Meier says this timeline raises questions about how quickly gas companies can respond in emergency situations. "To me, it's not reasonable; it's understandable why it takes them so long," he said. "But I don't think it is reasonable in that they could do a better job identifying the locations where their valves are and put them in more accessible places."
Another major concern is why first responders didn't evacuate the area themselves, despite the presence of a known gas leak. Alameda County Fire Deputy Chief Ryan Nishimoto explained that his crew arrived on scene before PG&E had finished stabilizing the situation, but they did not smell or detect any gas.
"This is the responsibility of the gas company to evacuate people in the event of a known leak," Meier emphasized. "They can't just push that off onto the fire department. What if no one had called the fire department and they're the only ones there?"
This explosion is like something out of a movie, you know? Like they wanted to get all these people in one spot at the same time and then BOOM! Just what's going on here? I mean, PG&E says it was an accident, but some people are saying maybe it wasn't so random. What if someone didn't want those workers digging up that gas line and now there's a whole investigation about why they didn't get evacuated sooner? And have you seen the footage from that doorbell camera? It's like something out of a horror movie! Those flames and debris flying everywhere... it's crazy. I don't trust PG&E or Cal/OSHA to tell us the full story, you know? There's gotta be more to this than meets the eye 
! I'm sending all my thoughts to those who were affected by it, especially the families of the six people who got hurt 
. The fact that two workers on site were injured from a gas leak in the first place is just wild 
. And can you believe PG&E said they stopped the flow of gas at 9:25 am but didn't get everything sorted until 10 am? 
That timeline raises some major red flags, imo. I mean, how hard is it to identify where your valves are and put them in more accessible places?! 
And what about the fire department not being able to evacuate the area themselves? Like, that's their job! 
. Anyway, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a full investigation and some serious changes in how gas companies handle emergency situations 
#GasSafetyMatters #InvestigateTheExplosion #PrioritizePeopleOverProfit
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. And now we're left wondering if anyone would've been hurt if someone had called 911 sooner 
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. And can we talk about PG&E's spokesperson, Tamar Sarkissian, for being transparent about when they stopped the gas flow? I mean, it might not be ideal, but at least we know what happened 
But you know what? I still believe that humans are going to figure out a way to make our communities safer and more resilient. We're gonna learn from this, and we're gonna come out even stronger on the other side 
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and what's with the timeline on when PG&E stopped the gas flow? it seems way too long to me. shouldn't they have been able to shut off the leak faster? 
It's not reasonable that a simple task like isolating damaged lines takes time, especially when there are lives at risk. The fire expert has some valid points and I think PG&E needs to listen and improve their processes 
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. btw did they catch who was responsible for that leak tho