The initial investigation into the deadly Aug. 11 gas explosion in Harford County indicates two reports of the odor of gas were made the night before the blast.

After the National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report Wednesday into Bel Air house explosion, Baltimore Gas and Electric also announced steps to enhance system safety and reliability.

The NTSB report said investigators examined the blast site in the 2300 block of Arthurs Woods Drive in Bel Air, reviewed BGE’s operational procedures, gathered documentation, conducted interviews and recovered physical evidence for examination.

The report stated that the night before the explosion, the home — owned by 73-year-old Ray Corkran who was killed in the blast — experienced an electrical outage.

According to the report, the outage prompted a BGE electrical service technician to respond to the scene. That evening, two reports of the odor of gas were made. The first was by the technician who made the report to BGE’s electrical dispatch operator and the second was from a neighbor 0.2 miles away from the home.

According to the report, BGE responded to the neighbor’s report — about 0.2 miles from the explosion — and did not find a leak.

Gas smell reported to BGE night before Bel Air home explosion

The following morning, two BGE electrical contractors were working on the electrical repair when the explosion occurred — resulting in the death of one of the contractors, 35-year-old Jose Rodriguez-Alvarado. The second contractor suffered minor injuries, according to the report.

The report stated that in an interview with NTSB investigators, another worker stated that he smelled gas in front of the home about 6:05 a.m., just before the explosion.

NTSB said the natural gas distribution system near the home — consisting of a 1-1/4-inch diameter plastic main — was installed in 2006. Another service line was a 1/2-inch diameter plastic service line, installed in 2007.

BGE completed a pressure test before the NTSB arrived at the blast site, the report said. “BGE also recovered damaged electrical service lines and the plastic service line with a hole on the bottom. After NTSB investigators arrived, BGE tested for and detected subsurface gas in the area surrounding the exploded home,” the report reads.

According to the report, the operating pressure of the gas system at the time of the explosion was about 89 pounds per square inch gauge — below the 99 per square inch gauge maximum allowable operating pressure.

The report did not state the cause of the gas leak or the ignition source. NTSB said their investigation is still ongoing and that future investigative activity will focus on BGE’s construction practices, its process for recording and responding to odor complaints and its pipeline safety management system, as well as other causal factors.

After the NTSB report was issued, BGE made a statement listing the safety measures it is taking. Those changes include:

Implemented refresher training reemphasizing proactive safety measures and gas and electric emergency processes.
Reinforced facility procedures with craft employees and enhanced processes to ensure employees responding to issues at these locations can maintain the safety of the gas and electric systems.
Increased oversight of emergency customer calls to the company.