Cranberry Township families left with unanswered questions after gas leaks found in multiple homes

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A neighborhood in Cranberry Township is questioning why gas leaks were found in nearly three dozen homes all at once. Channel 11 pressed the gas company for answers on what may have caused this and Channel 11 learned the state’s public utility commission is investigating the situation.

>> Small gas leaks found in more than 30 homes in Cranberry Township

“I was working from home here yesterday and started to get nausea throughout the afternoon and then my kids got back from school and they say, ‘Dad, we smell gas, we smell gas,’” said neighbor Christian Bonicky.

Channel 11 was there Wednesday when Cranberry firefighters responded to roughly 70 homes in the Fox Run neighborhood after getting flooded with calls from homeowners complaining of gas odors in their basements.  Firefighters found leaks in about half of those houses and had to shut off the gas.

“I was actually very nervous even though our gas line was shut down yesterday to even sleep in our home,” said Bonicky.

The fire chief said this could have been catastrophic if it wasn’t caught in time. A Columbia Gas spokesperson said no gas lines were hit or damaged and the pressure was normal in the lines. They believe higher than typical odorant levels were put into the system as Columbia Gas was preparing the system for winter operations. The odorant is added to help identify any leaks.

“It could have been leaks that were already there when they put this extra odorant in to make it more noticeable,” said neighbor Jon Keplinger.

The gas company said technicians checked the homes and found safety issues including small leaks on customer-owned service lines and gas appliances. Channel 11 saw a plumber fixing the leaks at some homes on Thursday.

“It just seems very ironic that it’s happening to 35-plus homes in the Fox Run neighborhood,” said Bonicky. “I think it is a bigger issue and I don’t want a generic blanket answer.”

Channel 11 reached out to the state’s public utility commission. In a statement, the PUC spokesperson said, “The PUC’s Safety Division is in communication with Columbia, and while indoor leaks are primarily past the meter on the non-jurisdictional side of gas utility systems, PUC safety engineers are investigating potential causes for this event.”

Columbia Gas said they will continue to monitor the situation. Right now, the homeowners are responsible for getting the leaks repaired and for the cost, which some neighbors said is hundreds of dollars. Then, the gas company will have to do a test to make sure everything is good before turning the gas back on.

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