Advocates Push for Gas Alarm Installation, Legislation in Aftermath of Home Explosion

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – “It breaks my heart. It just breaks my heart every time I hear about these explosions, because it’s preventable,” Katie Moody said.

Tragedy struck Moody’s family in January 2022.

“At approximately two in the morning, I began receiving calls that there had been an explosion at the house and that my dad had definitely not lived through the explosion and subsequent fire,” she said.

Moody’s father, Bob Mangus, was 73 years old. Investigators determined the explosion was fueled by a natural gas leak.

“There were no warning signs. No smell of gas leaks or anything like that,” she said.

It’s why Moody has become a staunch advocate for gas alarms.

“What if the families in St. Louis had this gas alarm? There wouldn’t be three victims. There wouldn’t still be someone in the hospital,” she said.

“A natural gas leak, unlike a carbon monoxide leak could be deadly instantly from an explosion,” Stacey McClenathan, chief marketing officer for DeNova Detect Natural Gas Alarms, said.

Since 2020, McClenathan says there have been 15 natural gas explosions confirmed in Missouri and 19 in Illinois.

“Together, that is some of the highest in the nation,” she said.

McClenathan recommends putting the alarms above every natural gas appliance in your home or business.

“An effective natural gas detection solution is going to be placed about 12 inches from the ceiling on the wall where you have the best likelihood of detecting a natural gas leak earlier and giving you more escape time,” she said.

“I can only hope people look at my family’s story and what happened in St. Louis and consider buying gas alarms for their homes to keep their families safe, their neighbors safe,” Moody said.

To date, only New York City and Maine have enacted natural gas alarm requirements. In April, Illinois House lawmakers passed a gas alarm bill. The legislation would mandate gas alarms in specified buildings and residences. Illinois senators will take up the law this fall. Missouri lawmakers have yet to consider the issue.

Originally published on Fox2Now.com