​​​On July 2, 2003, a contractor hired by the city of Wilmington, Delaware, to replace sidewalk and curbing dug into an unmarked natural gas service line with a backhoe. Although the service line did not leak where it was struck, the contact resulted in a break in the line inside the basement of 1816 West 3rd Street, where gas began to accumulate. A manager for the contractor said that he did not smell gas and therefore did not believe there was imminent danger and that he called an employee of the gas company and left a voice mail message. At approximately 1:44 p.m., an explosion destroyed two residences and damaged two others to the extent that they had to be demolished. 

Other nearby residences sustained some damage, and the residents on the block were displaced from their homes for about a week. Three contractor employees sustained serious injuries. Eleven additional people sustained minor injuries.           

​We ​determined that the probable cause of the July 2, 2003, natural gas explosion in Wilmington, Delaware, was the failure of Quickform to verify that all underground facilities were marked within the proposed dig site before beginning excavation. Contributing to the accident was the failure of Tech Consultants and Quickform to effectively communicate about the project scope. 

Contributing to the severity of the accident was the failure of Quickform employees to immediately notify the utility owner and emergency authorities when they realized they had struck and pulled up a gas service line.         ​