Stafford Explosion – Service Being Restored to Residents
Residents around Oak Avenue in Stafford Township are returning to their homes as gas service is restored by New Jersey Natural Gas.
Stafford Police said crews were finally able to begin restoring service to 300 homes around midnight after making sure all the gas leaks were contained following Tuesday's explosion that injured 15 utility workers, firefighters and EMTs.
Utility workers are going door-to-door, according to an updated message posted on Wednesday morning, to restore service. Police ask for patience from residents.
Tuesday morning's natural gas explosion leveled a house under renovation and unoccupied as utility crews investigated reports of a gas leak. The blast could be felt for several miles around the Ocean County community.
Many residents, however, left their homes for shelter set up by the Township and will not have service until they return home. Residents must be present in order to have service restored as NJNG workers must be inside the home. Police mentioned that all service workers will have credentials displayed for residents. The police will have a large presence in the neighborhood during the restoration period as well.
A check of the Atlantic City Electric outage map indicates all service has been restored.
Oak Avenue remains closed to traffic between Route 9 and Doc Cramer Boulevard.
NBC 4 New York reports the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities investigation into a cause of the explosion could take up to a year.
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