Gas explosion injured 3, hours after Gulfport inspected apartments, lawsuit says
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- Three South MS residents are suing Gulfport, others over apartment gas explosion.
- Lawsuit says city inspected new line but failed to test entire system or cap old valves.
- Residents seek damages for serious injuries, blame contractor, workers, city
Three South Mississippi residents have filed a lawsuit that says they were seriously injured in a gas explosion and subsequent fire at Evergreen Apartments in Gulfport because the city failed to thoroughly inspect work before allowing gas service to be restored.
The catastrophe hit only a few hours after the city’s inspection of a new gas line at the apartments. But the city failed to inspect the entire system before the gas was turned on, the lawsuit says, including an old line that was still connected.
“The inspector did not make a bad judgment call,” the lawsuit says. “He ignored the rules that exist to keep people alive.”
The lawsuit also faults the city for being less than thorough after previously shutting down the job because no permit had been pulled for the work.
Residents Justin Defriece and Derrick Edwards were sitting in one of the apartments on the afternoon of Dec. 31, 2024, when one of them lit a cigarette and an explosion followed, the lawsuit says. A third person, Shelby Eagan, was in the bedroom. A fire immediately erupted, the lawsuit says.
“The explosion was devastating,” the lawsuit says. “Eagan describes being thrown toward the flames, while clawing and grabbing onto walls as intense heat surrounded him. In the moments that followed, a second and third explosion occurred, intensifying the destruction. The blast was so powerful that it separated the roof from the walls.“
MS law limits damages against cities
Defriece, Edwards and Ashley Vaughan, also seriously injured in the explosion, filed the lawsuit. They are suing the city, Derek Robinson and his company, Pipedreams Plumbing & Mechanical LLC, and plumber Willie Williams.
The city had previously shut down the job because Williams was working without a license or permit, the lawsuit says. Work resumed once Robinson, a licensed contractor, pulled a permit to install the new line, the lawsuit says.
Derek Robinson told the Sun Herald that his company did nothing wrong. Pipedreams installed the new gas line that passed inspection, he said. As a licensed contractor, Robinson said, he supervised Williams’ work after pulling the permit. Once the new line was installed and tested, he said, his job was done.
“It’s embarrassing, that whole thing, because I’m getting this bum rap,” Robinson said. “I’ve never had a problem like this. I take gas lines seriously.”
Williams declined to comment on the lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of the three injured individuals by Ocean Springs attorney Jason Ruiz.
The city and state fire marshal concluded the explosion was an accident, according to the lawsuit. A Gulfport Fire Department investigation said natural gas had accumulated in the apartment because of open, uncapped interior gas line valves.
City attorney Jeff Bruni said a city inspector initially halted work onsite when he stopped and discovered there was no permit. When a permit was issued, Bruni said, it was only for installation of one “new main gas line” with nothing connected to it.
Bruni said in an email: “There was no permit sought to be pulled or applied for to connect any residential unit to this gas main, which would have required additional inspections and pressure tests, etc. Specifically, there was no gas connected to the new main, neither were any “laterals” (connections to any buildings) connected to it at the time.
“A licensed contractor should know that no gas connection can be made to an open main and without further notices, permits, and inspections involving the proper authorities.”
After the city’s inspection, workers supervised by plumber Williams started switching apartment appliances from the old to the new gas line, the lawsuit says. Around lunchtime, Williams connected the new gas line to the meter, activating both the old and new lines even though the full system had not been tested as state regulations require, the lawsuit says.
Gas from the old line was “flowing freely” through the uncapped gas line valves in at least two apartments, including the unit where the cigarette was lit, the lawsuit says.
The injuries suffered by Defriese, Egan and Vaughan are “serious and ongoing,” the lawsuit says, including “extensive scarring and disfigurement.”
They are seeking an unspecified amount for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering and other damages. They accuse Pipedreams, Robinson and Williams of negligence, gross negligence and reckless disregard for reactivating gas service, or allowing its reactivation, without the system being fully tested.
The city is being sued under the state Tort Claims Act, which limits any damages the city might have to pay to $500,000. The lawsuit accuses the city of multiple wrongs, including:
- Failing to test the gas system as a whole before it was activated.
- Permitting gas service in occupied apartments while work was ongoing.
- Failing to ensure that all valves were capped
- Failing to follow city procedures, along with known standards, regulations and codes.
