Investigators have zeroed in on a possible source of Sunday’s gas leak in Centreville, Virginia, that caused a house explosion that injured two people.
Fairfax County officials said in a blog post that Washington Gas, one of two companies with lines supplying natural gas near the 14300 block of Quail Pond Court where the blast occurred, “is investigating a loss of pressure on a line in the 5200 block of Belle Plains Drive.”
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief of Operations Eric Craven said at a press conference Wednesday that “it’s probably most appropriate to say that’s a source of a leak. … There is a loss of pressure when tested with air, which means when it had gas in it, that there was most likely a leak of natural gas from that pipeline.”
The section of the Washington Gas line that experienced a loss of pressure is about 1,000 feet long, Mr. Craven said.
He also said the National Transportation Safety Board-led probe will try to confirm whether the line along Belle Plains Drive caused the explosion and to make sure other possible leaks are dealt with.
Washington Gas told Washington’s WUSA-TV that it “has been responding to the incident in Centreville, and is fully cooperating with state and federal authorities, including the NTSB, which has named Washington Gas as a party to its investigation. Because of that, we are restricted from providing any information about the incident or its possible causes.”
The explosion occurred at 9:48 p.m. Sunday, injuring the elderly man who was inside the house and one of his neighbors, who was outside the house. The injuries were not life-threatening.
On Wednesday, Fairfax fire officials posted a video of the aftermath and response to the house explosion on social media.
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue is releasing operational footage from the Quail Pond gas explosion. Crews arrived to heavy damage and fire, initiated attack, searched for occupants, secured utilities, and established unified command. NTSB is the lead investigation agency. pic.twitter.com/T3JcRxXKPT
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) February 18, 2026
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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