As investigations into the San Antonio house explosions progress, a lawsuit has surfaced and anxious residents are still cleaning up.
SAN ANTONIO — There were plenty of new developments in the blast zone where five people were injured when two houses blew up last Tuesday on Preston Hollow Drive in north east San Antonio.
One lawsuit has been filed, hazardous materials teams showed up to the explosion zone to handle some sort of spill inside the contained area and CPS Energy continued outreach efforts as the investigation into the cause of two big explosions continues.
The lawsuit was time stamped late Monday, but Wednesday morning the local lawyer’s office that filed the case said they could not offer a comment because they are no longer representing the family involved.
The firm gave no reason but there were a couple of inconsistencies noticed in the action. Online research revealed the case was mistakenly listed as a motor vehicle accident, and the listed address of the home involved was two digits off.
The actual petition asks for compensation for injuries and damage in the explosion in the amount of more than one million dollars for each of two injured victims.
There is a secondary law firm listed on the filing. The Houston firm did not respond to a request for a comment about the status of the action, so it’s unknown if the case is actually moving forward.
The home involved in this petition is the second house that exploded on Preston Hollow last Tuesday night, about two-and-a-half hours after an initial blast took out another home.
In the background facts section of the document, the narrative details that the couple who own the house were inside the home at the time.
It goes on to say the plaintiffs were told to evacuate their residence after the first suspected natural gas explosion, but they were then told it was safe to return to their home.
The narrative claims natural gas had leaked from an underground CPS Energy line and “had formed a volatile gas cloud inside.”
The lawsuit claims both victims “sustained serious and permanent physical injuries” and that nothing they did or failed to do caused the incident.
In the Gross Negligence Claims section of the lawsuit, CPS Energy is accused of being reckless, and there’s a request for exemplary damages.
Online records indicate no hearings have been set in the matter.
Meanwhile, inside the blast zone, fire department hazardous materials units were back in the neighborhood in the afternoon.
The call was to help a homeowner with some sort of spill, but a fire spokesman said no details were included on the dispatch notes.
One neighbor said historically the lights and sirens of first responders used to signify safety, but now, after the blast, neighbors are still feeling anxious.
CPS Energy continues their safety campaign as well, delivering and installing monitors for gas and carbon monoxide leaks.
As one neighbor helped take pictures of a damaged home next door, another helped haul away whatever could be salvaged from the back yard, knowing that demolition day is coming for all the structures in the immediate area.
The neighbors, who said they are still too tender to talk on camera all agreed privately that the hard, heartbreaking work of putting lives back together will take much longer.