Columbia Housing received several gas-related complaints before leak was discovered
Residents at the St. Andrews Terrace public housing complex complained about problems with the gas several times over a month before the service was shut off, according to a press release from the Columbia Housing Authority Tuesday, May 25.
Between April 12 and May 11, the housing authority received five gas-related work orders at the St. Andrews Terrace Apartments.
“With each report, the fire department was notified, and Dominion Energy was called to assess the situation,” the press release stated.
But the gas was not shut off until Friday, May 21. That afternoon, the housing authority said it was voluntarily evacuating 24 residents there after the Columbia Fire Department inspected the property and discovered a gas leak.
Mike DeSuma, the public information officer for the fire department, said that its crews have responded to five gas-related complaints at the property this year, but two of those complaints were filed before April 12, when the housing authority received its first work order. He added that based on the fire department’s records, it can’t be determined whether the department was notified by residents or the housing authority.
In all five cases reported to the fire department, residents complained that they smelled gas. In four of those cases, the fire department detected a gas leak and shut off the gas in the affected units. In one case, no gas leak was detected.
The State has asked Dominion Energy for information on their response to the five gas-related work orders.
The housing authority announced on Wednesday, June 2 that it is no longer using natural gas at St. Andrews Terrace and that the units are now fully powered by electricity.
While the units were being converted to electric, the gas at the property remained off. During that time, ten families stayed at a hotel paid for by the housing authority. Those who remained at the property were offered $500 to cover any expenses incurred as a result of the gas shutoff.
As of Friday, June 28, all the residents had returned to St. Andrews Terrace.
When asked why the gas was not turned off sooner, a housing authority spokesperson said maintenance teams and a third party contractor had resolved each gas-related work order as it came in.
“There was no cause for immediate concern as the incident was considered non-threatening,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. She added that the decision to shut off the gas on May 21 was done “out of an abundance of caution.”
On Monday, June 24, Columbia Housing Authority CEO Ivory Mathews said Dominion found the source of the gas leak that triggered the voluntary evacuation. Dominion later released a statement refuting that claim, and the housing authority issued a correction.
“The underground leak detected and repaired by Dominion was not related to any of the indoor leaks detected by the fire department in the St. Andrews Terrace units,” a press release from the authority stated. “Columbia Housing is responsible for any work inside the units to address the leaks.”
In 2019, the housing authority came under fire after two residents died of carbon monoxide poisoning at the now-shuttered Allen Benedict Court public housing complex on Harden Street. A subsequent city investigation found 869 code violations, including missing carbon monoxide detectors, faulty fire alarms, and exposed wires.
Columbia Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins said when the department inspected St Andrews Terrace on Friday, no fire code violations were found.
The State has called the Columbia Police Department’s Code Enforcement Division to see if any building code violations have been reported at the property.
This story was originally published May 26, 2021 at 10:13 AM.
