The explosion in Rahova reveals a chain of errors. Expert: Everyone was wrong – the institutions, the gas supplier and the administrator

The explosion in Rahova, resulting in the death of three people and the injury of 15 others, seems to have been based on a multitude of mistakes in which all the actors seem to have been equally involved, both Distrigaz and the company called to detect and repair the faults, as well as the building's administrator, as experts in the field have told “Adevărul”.

There are many reasons that caused the explosion

The specialists consulted by “Adevărul” revealed a series of hypotheses, some of them even shocking, once the facts were committed knowingly, ignoring reality, only on the principle of “It doesn't happen to me!”.

“The problem of the seal that was put on the gas valve is a collateral one. If I closed the valve and put the seal, it must remain that way. Whoever opens the valve must know that they can die. If the valve is closed, it is closed because continuing to supply gas is a danger! The problem is that Romanians do not believe that it can happen to them! The problem is that some unconscious people turned on the gas.

The problem is that a criminal turned on that faucet”representatives of the Intelligent Energy Association (AEI) told “Adevărul”.

According to them, annually, in Romania, around 20,000 seals are installed on gas taps, but in 90% of cases they are removed, and the gas is turned on, endangering all the people living in the building in question.

Common fault

A specialist in gas installations explained to Adevărul that it is a common fault.

“There is definitely no ventilation on the stairwell“, declared one of the specialists.

According to him, the tragedy raises a lot of questions:
– how old is the gas installation? because it is very possible that he has given up.

– if the block was covered, was the revision made afterwards? “Because there are a lot of tenants and administrators who do not do the inspection after wrapping, and this is a major risk, because during the wrapping works, the gas pipes can be “disturbed”. The overhaul should be done after the tires are put on, but no one does it, because it is expensivehe said.

According to the specialist, if a block smells of gas, the procedure is extremely clear: “Chemi is the company authorized by ANRE to repair, it turns off the gas, informs the tenants, but it is not allowed under any circumstances to turn on the gas again”.

“The problem is that, in some cases, like the one we're talking about, the tenants call Distrigaz, but Distrigaz no longer does checks and revisions, that is, they don't look for the defect, they just close the tap and seal it“, the expert declared for “truth“.

On the other hand, he explained, the owners' association has the obligation to change the gas sensors once every 3 years, but they don't. “They don't change the gas sensors, because it doesn't suit them (tenants – n. ed.). That one can keep the barrel of sauerkraut on the stairwell and because of the gases the sensors are triggered and the natural gas supply is automatically stopped. And the company must be called again to find out, to do the revision, and the revision costs“, he explained.

“Another big question mark is if the homeowner's association did the gas inspection. If they didn't, it's their fault! The inspection must be done every 2 years. Another big problem is related to people who turned off the gas and put the seal, because it is known, there have been cases where apartment owners opened the gas. A serious plumber would have removed the regulator so that the gas could not be restarted“, explained the specialist, under the protection of anonymity.

What are the reasons that can lead to gas leakage

Asked what are the reasons that can lead to gas leaks, the expert stated that there are many and not all of them are related to the actions or inactions of the owners.

“First of all, we are talking about poorly done work, some Dorel who worked with the pipes and didn't do the job well. Then we can talk about tectonic movements, but this was not the case in the present situation. It can also be about the corrosion of the gas seams over time, but that should have been seen when the overhaul was done. Another reason can be related to the change of a gas meter, without checking whether or not the gasket broke. Or it can be broke a meter, that such cases have been encountered before. Maybe the gas installation is very old and has failed. These are the reasons that can lead to such an accumulation of gases“, the expert declared for “Adevărul”.

3 dead and 15 injured

Friday morning, at 9:07 a.m., there was a powerful explosion at a block located near the Dimitrie Bolintineanu High School in the Rahova district. As a result, 3 people died and 15 others were injured. Among the injured, 7 people have already been discharged, and one man has been transferred to Austria.

From the first information it emerged that the accumulation of gas led to the explosion, especially since people in the area had reported the strong smell since Thursday and had called the gas distribution company.

Raed Arafat confirmed that gas crews had intervened the day before and shut off the supply after tenants complained of a strong smell in the building.

Asked then how the explosion was possible, if the supply was turned off, Raed Arafat replied: “If the gas was turned off, someone probably turned it on. That remains to be seen.”

“The most likely cause is the gas. That's for sure. We can hardly say that it's something else. But what happened, how it happened, there are many aspects that are being discussed, here it remains for the specialists in the field to come and say exactly what was there and how it happened“, explained the head of DSU.

The hypothesis of gas accumulation was also confirmed by the prefect of the Capital, Andrei Nistor, who stated that, although there is no longer a smell of gas, “it is quite clear that this is the cause.'

Following the explosion, the block was completely evacuated.