By Ward Peck

Editor

A natural gas explosion on Monday morning destroyed a house on D Street
but caused no injuries or any other significant property damage in
South Portland’s densely developed Knightville neighborhood.

The explosion nonetheless rattled nerves and disrupted business
throughout the commercial and retail hub with witnesses reporting
buildings shaking and ceiling tiles fluttering.

Lt. Robb Couture, South Portland Fire Department’s public information
liaison, said a gas leak was originally reported in the area of D
Street at 8:25 a.m. after contractors excavating pavement dislodged a
gas line.

Fire department personnel were dispatched to the scene, as was a crew from the natural gas company Northern Utilities.

About an hour later, while Northern Utilities staff was still
addressing the gas line break, an explosion in 43 D Street caused the
building to collapse, Couture said.

It was unclear as of Tuesday whether the two events were related; how
long gas had been accumulating in the building or the source of the
ignition, he said.

Following the explosion, emergency officials cut the power to the area
and ordered it evacuated. County Emergency Management officials used a
“reverse 911” telephone program to call homes throughout the downtown
peninsula to alert residents of the evacuation order, Couture said.

Within several hours of the explosion, the evacuation area was reduced
to several blocks as gas continued to leak into the atmosphere from at
least one ruptured line. The destroyed building, a two-story
single-family home, was unoccupied and undergoing renovations, Couture
said.

The Notis Trust, whose trustees are members of the family that operates
the Bridgeway Restaurant adjacent to the destroyed building, owns the
building. Phil Notis, who was present at the scene following the
accident, declined to speak until the investigation was complete.

While the building was under renovation, no work was being done at the time of the explosion.

It is unclear how extensive the renovations were expected to be. There
is no building permit is on file in the city’s code enforcement office.