North Bend, WA – The explosion that destroyed several buildings in North Bend on April 25, has recently been ruled an accident by the King County Sheriff’s fire investigator. The investigation had been ongoing since the early morning incident. The explosion was caused by a natural gas leak and happened at 3:40 a.m.
Three people were taken to the hospital with minor cuts from flying glass.
The former Pizza Palace, which was being remodeled and had been due to open in a couple weeks when the explosion happened was completely destroyed.
Two nearby buildings, a barber shop and dance studio, were also destroyed. Several nearby buildings, like Les Schwab, the Union 76 gas station, and the apartment complex across the street were also significantly damaged.
Puget Sound Energy released a statement regarding the explosion and safety regarding other gas customers.
“PSE worked in conjunction with the Eastside Fire Department to investigate the cause of the explosion in North Bend.PSE crews thoroughly tested and inspected the natural gas distribution system after the incident.It was not impacted by the blast, and we are confident in the integrity and safety of the system.”
Now that the city’s investigation has concluded, cleanup of the debris can begin.
According to the King County Public Information Officer, Sergeant DB Gates, the cleanup process will be done by the private parties involved in the explosion and their insurance companies.
“They believe the cause was accidental and now it will be up to private parties to decide who has to pay for the cleanup and all that,” Gates said.
There may be further investigations executed by the various insurance companies involved, but the fire marshal’s investigation has finished.
“It’s entirely normal,” Gates said. “Any fire, any explosions, there’s always insurance companies who do their own investigation so there is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary that there are different insurance companies doing their own investigations.”
For further information regarding natural gas safety, visit the PSE website.