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Evacuation order lifted following home explosion in Centreville
A big development came on Friday in the aftermath of a house explosion and days-long neighborhood evacuation in Centreville. All of the remaining homes in the neighborhood that were evacuated have now been deemed safe, so residents can return.
CENTREVILLE, Va. - A big development came on Friday in the aftermath of a house explosion and days-long neighborhood evacuation in Centreville.
All of the remaining homes in the neighborhood that were evacuated have now been deemed safe, so residents can return.
What we know:
Until Friday morning, 19 homes in this neighborhood were still under an evacuation order, but that order has now been lifted.
Some people we've met today say they're not comfortable moving back right away, and are going to wait another day or two.
Others, however, are coming back to the Centreville neighborhood with an escort of firefighters equipped with monitors to test indoor air to reassure the homeowners that it's safe to be in their houses.
What they're saying:
FOX 5 spoke with residents Sam and Laila Bishara. They have been staying in a nearby hotel for the past 12 nights, and said they're just glad to be home.
"I’m really enjoying being home. Let me tell you, 12 days is a long time to be out of your home, especially when it’s not on vacation. I was a little nervous, but the fire department came in and I trust them," Laila Bishara said.
"I feel safe because we walked in the house with the meter — everything is zero. A couple of days ago, I had my camera in the house and I heard them when they walked in, they said ‘zero. Zero. Zero.’ Thank God. We are safe," Sam Bishara said.
View from above:
SkyFox drone up over the neighborhood Friday afternoon for another look at how things appear. Still a heavy presence of Washington Gas. Fairfax County police and fire personnel out here.
The house that exploded and caught fire that Sunday night, Feb. 15 was destroyed. At one point, almost 100 nearby homes had to be evacuated, but now, officials say the source of the gas leak has been found and fixed.
"We've run now just over 55 hours of continuous monitoring with Washington Gas, inside and outside of the homes, and all 19 are absolutely below any percentage of the LEL, which is the lower explosive limit. So, we're telling all the people they can come back and occupy their homes. Obviously, we're not forcing them if there’s some level of discomfort," said Fairfax County Assistant Fire Chief Eric Craven.
"I mean, you've heard the language that the NTSB investigation is very confidential, but I can tell you this entire area of the vicinity immediately around the house that exploded has been tested, pressure test and verified. A leak was found that has been completely repaired and then tested more. So, all the infrastructure in this immediate area has been tested multiple times with a systematic approach, and Washington Gas is 100% confident that it's reliable," Craven went on to say.
What's next:
Not everybody who can now come back wants to do so.
Others told FOX 5 that they'd be returning after work.
While the streets are still torn up, the neighborhood is starting to get back to some sort of normal.