Explosion in Southern Indianapolis...possible meteor fragment??
- Thread starter Gimpy
- Start date
Gimpy
The Living Force
Gimpy said:
Thank you anart...
First link text:
Posted: Nov 14, 2012 6:51 AM EST Updated: Nov 14, 2012 6:51 AM EST
ALBION -
Authorities are investigating what caused an explosion that destroyed a house in a rural area of northeastern Indiana.
No injuries were reported from Tuesday's explosion at the two-story house a few miles from the Noble County town of Albion. Albion Deputy Fire Chief John Urso says the couple who lived at the home were outside when the explosion happened.
Urso says firefighters had the propane gas and other utilities to the house shut off but that there was no fire from the explosion. The blast sent debris across the road and left the home's second-floor section toppled onto the ground.
Firefighter Tim Tumbleson tells The News Sun that the explosion shook his house about a quarter-mile away.
(Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Second article text:
Posted: 11/14/2012
Last Updated: 12 hours ago
By: Stephen Dean | Email Me
INDIANAPOLIS -
Natural gas is the leading suspicion for investigators who are looking into the fatal south side explosion, so Call 6 Investigators dug into citywide statistics showing gas leaks spiking for Citizens Energy crews within the past year.
Staff at the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission pointed to an Oct. 24 filing by Citizens Energy showing the number of gas mains and lines with reported leaks had jumped in early 2012 to a level not seen since 2009.
Citizens Energy Group reported to regulators that the overall trend is actually positive, with a bar graph highlighting a general decline in the number of leaks since 2007.
That year, the utility reported more than 800 leaks throughout its system. The graph indicates numbers started going down in 2008 and 2009, but then rose again in the middle part of 2009.
During that period, the number of leaks jumped up again to 500 leaks. The numbers then started dropping again with leaks dropping to a five-year low of just over 200 leaks per mile in early 2011.
The number of leaks started sharply rising at that point, spiking to a high of 500 leaks per mile in the early part of this year.
"We're actually proud of that number," said Citizens Energy spokeswoman Sarah Holsapple. "Citizens has… 8,000 miles of service lines and gas lines in Marion County and so in 2012, when you look at even the spike in the leaks that we had, that indicates that we had .06 leaks per mile."
Holsapple blames the recent spike in gas leaks on a five-year testing process. She said it causes the numbers of gas leaks to spike every five years.
"It appears that there is a spike, but if we would spread that testing out equally over the course of five years, it would be a plateau," she said.
She said that the five-year testing process requires crews to inspect a large number of lines in a short period of time at the end of the process, which inflates the numbers at the end of each cycle.
"So I guess what I'm saying is that the same amount of leaks are happening," said Holsapple. "We're proud to say that we're in the top 25 percent of companies of similar size when it comes to leak detection. We feel that our system is certainly safe and I think these numbers indicate that."
Note: bold added
Gimpy
The Living Force
This is a special focus page created by channel 6, it contains maps of damage in the subdivision, before and after images,
basically a summation of videos and articles that may or may not provide more clues:
http://www.theindychannel.com/indianapolis-explosion
Included on this page are other links to some of the violence happening since then.
basically a summation of videos and articles that may or may not provide more clues:
http://www.theindychannel.com/indianapolis-explosion
Included on this page are other links to some of the violence happening since then.
The other day PoB mentioned to me the idea that the explosion - and even part of the damage - could have been caused by some sort of massive electrical phenomenon. And, since we have certainly been having an increase in such things, I thought it was possible. So, just a minute ago, on my little break here, I tried to find any images on google. Well, there's nothing as BIG as this, but the photos are suggestive of what we are dealing with here. Take a look:
http://www.wibc.com/news/story.aspx?ID=1742071
http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2007/06/lightning_strike_explodes_aloh.html
http://www.abc27.com/story/19284765/lightning-strike-causes-150k-in-damage-to-home
http://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/news/lightning-hits-building-43887.aspx
Thing is, if it was a new, hugemongous, kind of lightning strike, I doubt the PTB would want it known.
But then, there's always HAARP!
http://www.wibc.com/news/story.aspx?ID=1742071
http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2007/06/lightning_strike_explodes_aloh.html
http://www.abc27.com/story/19284765/lightning-strike-causes-150k-in-damage-to-home
http://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/news/lightning-hits-building-43887.aspx
Thing is, if it was a new, hugemongous, kind of lightning strike, I doubt the PTB would want it known.
But then, there's always HAARP!
Laura said:
Maybe it has something to do with these booms that people have been hearing? They're described as "explosions" being similar to the firing of artillery both in sound and impact.
http://www.sott.net/article/253582-Numerous-Reports-of-Mysterious-Booms-and-Strange-Lights-Over-South-Carolina
http://www.sott.net/article/253580-New-Mysterious-Booms-Reported-in-Manchester-Township-New-Jersey
I'm not sure how many exploding house events typically occur in any given time period, but a quick news search turned up the following, all from the previous 30 days:
_http://www.news-press.com/article/20121114/NEWS0110/121114001/1075/Notre-Dame-latest-pass-Oregon-BCS-standings/Vacant-Fort-Myers-Shores-home-destroyed-fire?odyssey=nav%7Chead
[quote author=Video witness, different from article]
Interviewer: You lived next door to this fire, what did you see last night?
Witness: I heard a lot of popping, and then a really loud explosion, and the entire house was engulfed in flames within a matter of seconds.
(from article):
Ft Myers, FL 11-14-12
A vacant home was destroyed by a fire in Fort Myers Shores.
No one lived at the house at 13308 Fourth St. but there are several items in the house.
The house is a total loss.
A cause has not been released, but there is a sign posted in the front yard that reads "Officials suspect this fire was the result of arson."
[/quote]
_http://www.goblueridge.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17925:explosion-fire-destroy-ashe-home&catid=1&Itemid=157
_http://www.9news.com/news/article/297552/339/Family-struggles-back-after-home-explosion
_http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2012/11/05/05/15/man-suffers-severe-burns-in-house-explosion
_http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2012/11/2_dogs_killed_in_newak_gas_exp.html
_http://www.newson6.com/story/20084213/investigation-underway-into-cause-of-mannford-apartment-fire
_http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121106/NEWS/211060328/-1/NEWS
_http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/article_bafb417b-408c-58bf-8864-de37aa285ce4.html
_http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/11/01/2-men-killed-1-critically-injured-after-fire-broke-out-in-a-pasadena-home/
_http://www.wgrz.com/news/article/188812/37/Investigators-Looking-Into-Cause-of-Alfred-Apartment-Explosion
_http://www.patriotledger.com/topstories/x1292890109/Neighbor-heard-hissing-then-explosions-at-Scituate-fire
_http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/242513/Suspicious-explosion
_http://universityplace.patch.com/articles/fire-destroys-university-place-home-wednesday
_http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10841634
_http://www.news-press.com/article/20121114/NEWS0110/121114001/1075/Notre-Dame-latest-pass-Oregon-BCS-standings/Vacant-Fort-Myers-Shores-home-destroyed-fire?odyssey=nav%7Chead
[quote author=Video witness, different from article]
Interviewer: You lived next door to this fire, what did you see last night?
Witness: I heard a lot of popping, and then a really loud explosion, and the entire house was engulfed in flames within a matter of seconds.
(from article):
Ft Myers, FL 11-14-12
A vacant home was destroyed by a fire in Fort Myers Shores.
No one lived at the house at 13308 Fourth St. but there are several items in the house.
The house is a total loss.
A cause has not been released, but there is a sign posted in the front yard that reads "Officials suspect this fire was the result of arson."
[/quote]
_http://www.goblueridge.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17925:explosion-fire-destroy-ashe-home&catid=1&Itemid=157
_http://www.9news.com/news/article/297552/339/Family-struggles-back-after-home-explosion
_http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2012/11/05/05/15/man-suffers-severe-burns-in-house-explosion
_http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2012/11/2_dogs_killed_in_newak_gas_exp.html
_http://www.newson6.com/story/20084213/investigation-underway-into-cause-of-mannford-apartment-fire
_http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121106/NEWS/211060328/-1/NEWS
_http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/article_bafb417b-408c-58bf-8864-de37aa285ce4.html
_http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/11/01/2-men-killed-1-critically-injured-after-fire-broke-out-in-a-pasadena-home/
_http://www.wgrz.com/news/article/188812/37/Investigators-Looking-Into-Cause-of-Alfred-Apartment-Explosion
_http://www.patriotledger.com/topstories/x1292890109/Neighbor-heard-hissing-then-explosions-at-Scituate-fire
_http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/242513/Suspicious-explosion
_http://universityplace.patch.com/articles/fire-destroys-university-place-home-wednesday
_http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10841634
Gimpy
The Living Force
Unless something new pops up, this will be the last article for a bit. It appears the 'news cycle' is moving on.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20121114/NEWS/211140342/Debris-may-hold-clues-to-cause-of-Indianapolis-explosion?odyssey=tab|mostpopular|text|NEWS01
9:28 PM, Nov 14, 2012
Pieces of insulation, siding and drywall were scattered several blocks away after a deadly explosion destroyed homes in the Richmond Hill neighborhood late Saturday.
To most people, that debris looks like random hodge-podge of junk. To a trained eye, that junk trail provides the first clue to figuring out what happened.
“They will map out all the debris, see which direction it is going,” said Frank Hsu, a California-based expert in explosion reconstruction. “They mark it with arrows to show the direction of travel. That will show where the explosion came from.”
Several experts say piecing together what happened last weekend will be a deliberate and painstakingly slow process. They are looking for debris, strange smells, suspicious people. Anything out of the ordinary. Anything that might be a clue.
They likely are using high-tech equipment as well as old-fashioned detective work — they are interviewing everyone who lives in the neighborhood or was visiting that night.
Early signs are pointing to a natural gas explosion but the investigation into the blast that killed two and injured seven is far from complete, Marion County Public Safety Director Troy Riggs said.
But what happened? Was it an accident? Was it deliberate? Experts on the ground are working to find those answers.
“It’s just kind of like peeling an onion,” said Donn A. Altmann, president of the Indiana chapter of the National Association of Professional Insurance Investigators. “You have to start peeling back the layers until you find out what caused the thing.”
State and local arson investigators, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents, gas company representatives and insurance investigators remained in the neighborhood on Wednesday. They’ve declined to be interviewed.
Insurance investigators will be looking for evidence of faulty appliances or products that might share the blame, Altmann said. They are also looking for any possible financial motives that might lead someone to want to blow up their home.
Who might have had credit problems? Was the debt on the mortgage higher than the home was worth? Was there a foreclosure?
“I’m sure everyone is looking at those things real hard,” Altmann said. “Those would be fraud indicators, but that doesn’t mean there is fraud.”
Folks at the scene and directly involved in the investigation are not talking. Riggs said they want to preserve evidence in case this investigation ends up in a criminal court.
“Everybody’s very concerned,” Riggs said. “If it is criminal, we want to make sure we are doing it the right way.”
But outside experts say while gas is the leading suspected cause, the blast was not typical of most gas explosions.
“One hell of a lot of gas had to be leaking out ... and that’s typically not symptomatic of a furnace problem,” said Sergei Traycoff, president of Bolls Heating and Cooling in Indianapolis. “I’ve never heard of one causing this big a blast.”
On July 21, 1997, a gas explosion flattened six homes and damaged 80 more in the Charter Pointe neighborhood on the city’s Northeastside. Gladys Mills, 86, was killed by the explosion. Investigators determined the blast was caused by a 20-inch gas pipeline ruptured by a contractor working for the gas company; Citizens Gas and Coke Utility paid out $1.15 million to more than a dozen victims.
More than a dozen home explosions linked to natural gas have occurred in the past two years.
They usually involved a single home, though more devastating blasts tied to pipelines have been reported — including a 2011 explosion in Allentown, Pa., that killed five people and a blast in 2010 in San Bruno, Calif., that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes.
A gas leak in a Colorado home last month sparked an explosion that sent five people to a hospital and damaged several homes.
John Erickson, vice president of the American Public Gas Association, said more gas blasts are caused by appliances than by pipelines, but even those are rare. Technological advances such as microprocessors and the switch from pilot lights to electronic ignitions have made appliances safer, he said. Gas companies have been required since 1970 to add a chemical that smells like rotten eggs to the odorless gas to make leaks easier to detect.
Erickson said it was odd that the blast apparently flattened two homes side by side. Generally, if a house explodes, it will knock out the wall of the home next door, but not level it, he said.
And Hsu, the expert from California, said an explosion this “violent” would have required so much fuel that it is likely someone would have smelled something before it blew up.
“It mixed very well before it ignited. When there are people in the house, how could that not be noticed?” Hsu said. “There might be an easy explanation, but we don’t know.”
There’s a criminal investigation going on, as well. Police are talking to people and looking for anything out of the ordinary.
“It’s painstaking and that’s probably what’s frustrating to the community and the victims,” said Mike Crooke, a retired Indianapolis police homicide detective who is now Cumberland’s police chief.
“The average person looks at something and it is devastation,” Crooke said, “but for those trained and specialized in this area, they can see clues that point them in one direction or eliminate another.”
Investigators often use high-tech equipment and computers to help solve the puzzle, he said.
“They can rebuild these things like you wouldn’t believe,” Crooke said. “There are computer programs that are just fantastic.”
Investigators will be thorough, too.
“They’ll be talking to neighbors. They are asking questions not only directed at that night but prior nights,” Crooke said.
Maybe neighbors noticed funny smells, out-of-place vehicles, or someone who just didn’t belong.
Detectives will be suspicious of everyone. They’ll gather background information on the dead, the injured, the homeowners, the visitors.
“It would be nice if it turns out this is an obvious malfunction here that takes the criminal element out,” Crooke said. “But with that much devastation out there, wow. It’s awful.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20121114/NEWS/211140342/Debris-may-hold-clues-to-cause-of-Indianapolis-explosion?odyssey=tab|mostpopular|text|NEWS01
9:28 PM, Nov 14, 2012
Pieces of insulation, siding and drywall were scattered several blocks away after a deadly explosion destroyed homes in the Richmond Hill neighborhood late Saturday.
To most people, that debris looks like random hodge-podge of junk. To a trained eye, that junk trail provides the first clue to figuring out what happened.
“They will map out all the debris, see which direction it is going,” said Frank Hsu, a California-based expert in explosion reconstruction. “They mark it with arrows to show the direction of travel. That will show where the explosion came from.”
Several experts say piecing together what happened last weekend will be a deliberate and painstakingly slow process. They are looking for debris, strange smells, suspicious people. Anything out of the ordinary. Anything that might be a clue.
They likely are using high-tech equipment as well as old-fashioned detective work — they are interviewing everyone who lives in the neighborhood or was visiting that night.
Early signs are pointing to a natural gas explosion but the investigation into the blast that killed two and injured seven is far from complete, Marion County Public Safety Director Troy Riggs said.
But what happened? Was it an accident? Was it deliberate? Experts on the ground are working to find those answers.
“It’s just kind of like peeling an onion,” said Donn A. Altmann, president of the Indiana chapter of the National Association of Professional Insurance Investigators. “You have to start peeling back the layers until you find out what caused the thing.”
State and local arson investigators, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents, gas company representatives and insurance investigators remained in the neighborhood on Wednesday. They’ve declined to be interviewed.
Insurance investigators will be looking for evidence of faulty appliances or products that might share the blame, Altmann said. They are also looking for any possible financial motives that might lead someone to want to blow up their home.
Who might have had credit problems? Was the debt on the mortgage higher than the home was worth? Was there a foreclosure?
“I’m sure everyone is looking at those things real hard,” Altmann said. “Those would be fraud indicators, but that doesn’t mean there is fraud.”
Folks at the scene and directly involved in the investigation are not talking. Riggs said they want to preserve evidence in case this investigation ends up in a criminal court.
“Everybody’s very concerned,” Riggs said. “If it is criminal, we want to make sure we are doing it the right way.”
But outside experts say while gas is the leading suspected cause, the blast was not typical of most gas explosions.
“One hell of a lot of gas had to be leaking out ... and that’s typically not symptomatic of a furnace problem,” said Sergei Traycoff, president of Bolls Heating and Cooling in Indianapolis. “I’ve never heard of one causing this big a blast.”
On July 21, 1997, a gas explosion flattened six homes and damaged 80 more in the Charter Pointe neighborhood on the city’s Northeastside. Gladys Mills, 86, was killed by the explosion. Investigators determined the blast was caused by a 20-inch gas pipeline ruptured by a contractor working for the gas company; Citizens Gas and Coke Utility paid out $1.15 million to more than a dozen victims.
More than a dozen home explosions linked to natural gas have occurred in the past two years.
They usually involved a single home, though more devastating blasts tied to pipelines have been reported — including a 2011 explosion in Allentown, Pa., that killed five people and a blast in 2010 in San Bruno, Calif., that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes.
A gas leak in a Colorado home last month sparked an explosion that sent five people to a hospital and damaged several homes.
John Erickson, vice president of the American Public Gas Association, said more gas blasts are caused by appliances than by pipelines, but even those are rare. Technological advances such as microprocessors and the switch from pilot lights to electronic ignitions have made appliances safer, he said. Gas companies have been required since 1970 to add a chemical that smells like rotten eggs to the odorless gas to make leaks easier to detect.
Erickson said it was odd that the blast apparently flattened two homes side by side. Generally, if a house explodes, it will knock out the wall of the home next door, but not level it, he said.
And Hsu, the expert from California, said an explosion this “violent” would have required so much fuel that it is likely someone would have smelled something before it blew up.
“It mixed very well before it ignited. When there are people in the house, how could that not be noticed?” Hsu said. “There might be an easy explanation, but we don’t know.”
There’s a criminal investigation going on, as well. Police are talking to people and looking for anything out of the ordinary.
“It’s painstaking and that’s probably what’s frustrating to the community and the victims,” said Mike Crooke, a retired Indianapolis police homicide detective who is now Cumberland’s police chief.
“The average person looks at something and it is devastation,” Crooke said, “but for those trained and specialized in this area, they can see clues that point them in one direction or eliminate another.”
Investigators often use high-tech equipment and computers to help solve the puzzle, he said.
“They can rebuild these things like you wouldn’t believe,” Crooke said. “There are computer programs that are just fantastic.”
Investigators will be thorough, too.
“They’ll be talking to neighbors. They are asking questions not only directed at that night but prior nights,” Crooke said.
Maybe neighbors noticed funny smells, out-of-place vehicles, or someone who just didn’t belong.
Detectives will be suspicious of everyone. They’ll gather background information on the dead, the injured, the homeowners, the visitors.
“It would be nice if it turns out this is an obvious malfunction here that takes the criminal element out,” Crooke said. “But with that much devastation out there, wow. It’s awful.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Guardian said:
On the debris not adding up to the official story, this kind of reminds me of the official story of the Pentagon being hit by a plane on 09/11 but the destruction to the building and debris of the incident not adding up.
Maybe someone can dig up real estate info? Who the real estate developer was, when was the neighborhood constructed, etc. If it is a staged event, maybe something might turn up in the real estate paperwork (i.e. maybe the houses were built very recently or the developer has some government/clandestine connections?)
Michael Martin said:
And what was the development built on top of? There was a big fancy housing development in Pasco Co. FL that was built on the old dump and not a few years after, there were "gassy" things going on underground, sink holes, and worse. Don't remember all the details but I think the developers were in hot water.
Gimpy
The Living Force
Laura said:
Last night I went outside and almost vomited from the strong smell of methane gas in the air. (I'm sensitive to it, so that doesn't mean much) We have a local dump that does burn methane gas off to power their equipment, and they do periodic 'burns' to keep that working. Today Hubby called to report that one of his coworkers, who lives on the north side of Indy, also smelled methane gas during the night. It was a very strong odor, lasted a few hours, then dissipated. I was ready to chalk it all up to coincidence until that call.
Geologically, Indiana was once the bottom of an ocean, and it makes me wonder if we don't have deep methane pockets that are now out-gassing. That was a detail in one of the news reports that stuck out to me..that the suspected gas was methane...a 'natural gas'.
The searches I did today to find background on what the ground was used for prior to the subdivision being built turned up nothing, not even the name of the construction company that built the homes. A bit frustrating. We'll see if the geological record turns up anything promising....
Someone who apparently lives nearby said on this ATS thread that sulphur could be smelled in the area:
_http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread898437/pg2
Another claim here has a report of suphur being smelled before the explosion:
_http://carolinasportsthoughts.blogspot.fr/2012/11/gas-explosion-in-indianapolis-area.html
Something interesting about that ATS thread is that residents from Shreveport and Minden, Louisiana are dropping by to share their experiences from the 'munitions blast' in October:
_http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread898437/pg83
_http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread898437/pg2
Another claim here has a report of suphur being smelled before the explosion:
_http://carolinasportsthoughts.blogspot.fr/2012/11/gas-explosion-in-indianapolis-area.html
Something interesting about that ATS thread is that residents from Shreveport and Minden, Louisiana are dropping by to share their experiences from the 'munitions blast' in October:
_http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread898437/pg83
Interesting that a video taken at the scene in the immediate aftermath purportedly showing 'green flares' above or coming from the fires, but it has since been "removed by the YouTube user":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THCeWxyVrJ4&feature=player_embedded
I found it on GLP, where there's some discussion of it: [hold your noses!]
_http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message2051483/pg1
Green flares... copper? Fireballs often give off a green light.
Then there's this:
_http://www.stevequayle.com/index.php?s=33&d=191
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THCeWxyVrJ4&feature=player_embedded
I found it on GLP, where there's some discussion of it: [hold your noses!]
_http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message2051483/pg1
Green flares... copper? Fireballs often give off a green light.
Then there's this:
_http://www.stevequayle.com/index.php?s=33&d=191
