Somerset, MA – Residents of a Somerset neighborhood where a natural gas explosion killed a woman are demanding that the gas company test all pipes in the area.
Tom Branco, who lives on a street near the site of the New York Avenue explosion last month, tells the Herald News of Fall River neighbors are signing a petition that he hopes will be presented to the state Department of Public Utilities.
He says the neighbors want all pipes within a one-mile radius of the explosion to be tested and replaced if necessary. Some of the pipes are more than 50 years old.
He says New England Gas Co. has been unresponsive to neighborhood concerns.
Rose Marie Rebello died when an explosion authorities suspect was caused by a gas leak leveled her home on Feb. 19.