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Exact Cause Of N.J. Explosion Could Remain Mystery

Teaneck Resident Reported Smelling Gas Hours Before Blast

TEANECK, N.J. (CBS) ― There is new information on the cause of the house explosion in Teaneck that killed one person on Thursday night. PSE&G officials spoke Friday morning about what its investigation has uncovered so far.

Officials believe that the gas ignited near the house's meter. But because the house was totally destroyed, officials say investigators may never be able to find the exact cause.

Meanwhile, residents wondered if the devastating blast could have been prevented. CBS 2 learned the victim's next door neighbor reported smelling gas before blast.

The house, located on Hasting Street, is completely gone, replaced by a vast open space, mound of rubble and questions about whether a gas explosion could have been prevented.

Next door neighbor Banji Ganchrow, who damaged home is now littered with ash, says she smelled gas on and off coming from 66-year-old Richard Hass' home for several weeks.

That's when she decided to call PSE&G.

"I told them that I smelled it coming from between my house and his house," she said. "They were here at 2 o'clock, and they said everything was fine. It must have been 6 o'clock when we heard a boom."

So the question remains: if PSE&G was there hours before the explosion, and they were told by the neighbor that the source of the smell was one of the houses, why didn't they knock on the door?

"If the residents says they smell gas inside, certainly we'll go inside, we'll take readings," says Karen Johnson, a spokesperson for PSE&G. "The indications was that they smelled gas outside and we were following our procedure."

But now officiasl say they're taking a closer look at how workers will respond to future calls

"We're talking with our employees and we are reviewing our procedures at this point," she says.

The blast not only leveled the home, but was powerful enough to blow out windows in houses across the street.

Hass was home at the time, and likely killed instantly in the blast. Firefighters recovered his body from the rubble Thursday night.

"He was just a very nice, quirky man who liked to plant in his garden, who just recently took up basketball and riding his bicycle," Ganchrow said.

A father and son walking in front of the house also suffered minor injuries when the explosion knocked them off their feet.

"People were running out of their houses, panicked," Ganchrow said.

The next challenge now: putting the pieces back together, which officials say will take three or four days.

Once the cleanup job is complete investigators hope they will be able to determine what caused the explosion in the first place.

CBS 2's Don Dahler and Jay Dow contributed to this report.

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