UPPER FREEHOLD — Residents of Upper Freehold Township are growing more concerned for their safety after a natural gas explosion occurred too close for comfort.
On Feb. 24, a home in Stafford Township, Ocean County, was destroyed by an explosion that resulted from a leak in a 2- inch-diameter street main serviced by New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG), according to Michael Kinney, a senior communications specialist at New Jersey Resources.
New Jersey Resources is the parent company of NJNG.
As news of the Stafford Township explosion and a video showing the home’s destruction traveled quickly across dozens of media sites, residents of Upper Freehold began to have a sense of uneasiness as the thought of NJNG’s Southern Reliability Link (SRL) project was in their minds.
NJNG has said it is planning to construct a 30-inch-diameter pipeline through portions of Upper Freehold on a route from Burlington County to Ocean County. A final route for the pipeline has not been unveiled to the public at this time.
Resident John Inzilla said his neighbors quickly began to exchange emails as they sought to learn how the explosion occurred.
Inzilla and other residents recently formed Families for Responsible Pipelines as the news of NJNG’s plan to build a highpressure pipeline through Upper Freehold and neighboring communities became public knowledge.
“I found out [the Stafford Township explosion] was an NJNG supply line 2 inches in diameter and a low-pressure line. If it had happened when people were occupying the house … I could only imagine,” Inzilla said.
“NJNG responds fast to those questioning safety and they always say everything will be designed and monitored with the best technology available. This concerns us since something like this house explosion happened in New Jersey, in a residential neighborhood with families,” he said.
“If they want to be transparent, they need to start listening to us now. They cannot guarantee that something like this will never happen again and they need to keep in mind how to [construct the pipeline] responsibly,” Inzilla said.
According to Kinney, NJNG crews responded to a call in Stafford Township reporting a gas leak at 9:24 a.m. Feb. 24 and discovered a gas main break. Police and firefighters evacuated residents in the area prior to the explosion, which occurred at 10:30 a.m.
The gas leak in the street main was caused by a crack in the line, according to Kinney. The leaking gas eventually came into contact with a source of ignition. An investigation into the explosion is ongoing.
Multiple individuals were injured in the explosion, including seven NJNG employees, according to Kinney. All of the employees had been released from the hospital as of Feb. 26, with the exception of one person who remained in critical condition.
Kinney said safety is the company’s top priority and he said residents of Upper Freehold should know that every safety concern will be assessed as the SRL project moves forward.
“The SRL project will be monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There will be a monthly inspection of the line and a leak survey conducted annually. We cannot equate the Stafford Township explosion with the SRL project,” he said.