LEXINGTON, Mo. — Liberty Gas has set up a claims contact and process for Lexington residents and property owners impacted by last week's deadly house explosion.
The company shut off gas to the entire town last Wednesday after a house on 18th Street exploded, killing a five-year-old boy and critically injuring his sister and father.
While questions remain about what led up to the explosion, city leaders confirmed a fiber optic company had hit a gas line three hours prior to the explosion.
Many customers went without gas service for an entire week. Liberty Gas expects service to be restored to most customers by Thursday night.
According to Missouri 811 records, the fiber optic company requested to dig in the area five days prior to the explosion, painting and flagging the zone. Then, an emergency ticket was made after the gas line was damaged around 4:30 p.m.
811's executive director explained there were no missteps from the standpoint of notifying when and where the company would be digging.
"[There was no wrongdoing] involving Missouri 811 reporting. Everybody did what they were supposed to do," Randy Norden said. "Personally, I find it baffling. I'm really waiting to see what the NTSB finds in their investigation."
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is expected to release its findings within 30 days.
Anyone who has been impacted and would like to set up a claims case should call 877-379-0917 or email libertyutilitiesclaims@us.crawco.com.
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