Can You Gas It?

Yes, indeed. There was a gas explosion in a luxury condominium in Mont' Kiara last Thursday morning.

I was in my office and suddenly there was a loud bang, and the door leading to the air cond ledge shook for a couple of seconds. Could that be an earthquake? I went and opened the back door and peeped out. Hmm... calm as usual.

Minutes later, I could hear series of sirens. Then, I started to get uneasy. My curiosity led me downstairs. I saw a group of Plaza maintenance men gathered at the back of the Plaza, looking out and talking loudly. I looked out and saw black smoke and flames leaping into the air from a condominium behind Garden International School. OMG! There has been a gas explosion. Standing there, I could still hear the sirens coming from Sprint Expressway. Later in the day, I came across few people who was at Mont' Kiara at the material time and told me that they also felt the blast.

The following day, I learnt from the papers that the particular unit on the 6th floor of the condominium was completely gutted by fire with shattered windows, blew out doors and balcony railings. The impact of the blast has also damaged 10 units in the opposite block. A maid and a cat were seriously injured, suffering from severe burns. BTW, may I know what was the cat doing there in the first place? One is not supposed to breed cats/dogs in units according to Condo's house rules.

The explosion was definitely caused by gas leakage, but why was there leakage? Was the gas installation faulty? Or was the gas appliance left unattended due to negligence of the maid? I suppose the developer is now doing all he can to cover up the incident.

Whatever the cause behind it, I hope all developers of high rise condominiums with central piped gas will conduct regular safety checks on the incoming and riser gas pipe and also hope that the occupants to be more wary, to ensure safety of all residents.