Centreville explosion: Crews find leaky gas pipe near home that went up in flames

Neighbors on edge days after Centreville home explosion

Four days after a home explosion rocked a Centreville neighborhood, dozens of families remain under an evacuation order as crews continue working to identify the source of a gas leak. 

CENTREVILLE, Va. - The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has completed its on-scene investigation of a home explosion in Centreville, Virginia, earlier this month. Investigators said they have found a portion of pipe near the explosion site that had a leak.

On-scene investigation completed

What we know:

The NTSB announced on Tuesday that crews had found a portion of pipe near the corner of Quail Pond Court and Belle Plains Drive that leaked during pressure testing. 

Officials from Fairfax County Fire and Rescue confirmed the home on Quail Pond Court borders natural gas transmission lines and that three major lines run through the community.

Crews did not find any other leaks in the underground lines.

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Centreville house explosion: Natural gas line leaking, homes evacuated, officials say

Officials say natural gas is seeping through the ground from a transmission line leak near the Centreville home that reportedly exploded on Sunday, prompting evacuations of dozens of nearby houses.

Centreville explosion

The backstory:

The explosion happened on Sunday, Feb. 15 at a home on Quail Pond Court. When Fire and Rescue crews got there, they found the home completely engulfed in flames, with flames spreading to other homes nearby.

One person inside the home and a neighbor were hospitalized with minor injuries.

The explosion and fire forced the evacuation of dozens of homes in the neighborhood. Families have slowly been allowed back.

RELATED: Centreville Gas Explosion: Re-entry plan released for evacuated residents

What caused the Centreville home explosion?

What we don't know:

The NTSB did not say definitively whether that section of leaky pipe may have caused the explosion and subsequent fire. They won't make that determination until investigators release their final report in 1–2 years.

What's next:

Investigators are sending the faulty portion of the pipe to the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington to determine what caused the pipe to fail. The NTSB will release a preliminary report on the explosion sometime in the next 30 days.