Yup! That has happened more than once to the company I worked for.

"Randd01" wrote in message
...
Hey guys just a word of caution. I been in the utility constrution
business
over 30 years as an equipment operator. People that don't have gas in
their
houses think they are safe from a gas exposion. This just isnt true. Over
the
years I have seen / heard of a couple of instances where houses were blown
off
their foundations from gas and they didn't even have gas in their houses.
What
happens is this. A crew digging in the street strikes a gas line. The
proper
why to handle this is to rip it all the way out so the gas escapes into
the air
until it can be shut down. But what happens a lot is the crew hits the
pipe and
doesnt think they do any damage to it. They finish their work and backfill
the
trench. Meanwhile gas can be escaping from anywhere along the pipe that
got a
little tug. What happens is the gas will follow the path of least
resistance
and this can be a couple of things. It has been known to follow up the
water
service line trench of peoples houses that dont have gas. They come home
and
smell gas but say we dont have gas it cant be gas. Then the furnace cycles
or
they flip a switch, good night Irene. It can also follow up the trench
from a
swer connection and leak into a basement around the castiron pipe where
it
comes thru the floor or wall. I'm telling you this because if you do come
home
and smell gas be aware that this can happen and call 911 or gas company
from a
neighbors house. They will come out immediately. Tell your kids too!
Natural gas is pretty safe as it is lighter then air. Propane on the other
hand
is heavier then air and collects in the low spots of your home. This is
far
more dangerous. Just a little info for you non gas users.