Boy 7 Dies And 6 In Hospital After Devastating Explosion Destroys House In Newcastle

A seven-year-old boy has died and six others have been injured after a large fire in a residential street in Newcastle. Emergency services were called to the incident in Violet Close, in the Benwell and Elswick area of the city, shortly before 1am on Wednesday.

A spokesman for North East Ambulance Service said four people were treated at the scene and then taken to hospital.

Drone pictures from above the street showed at least one house appeared to have been completely destroyed, with roofs collapsed and firefighters working among the rubble.

Piles of debris could be seen on the street outside.

Authorities added six flats had been "badly affected, two of which suffered the main brunt of the explosion".

I'm surprised anybody came out of that alive to be honest given the level of destruction.

RIP little one and a speedy recovery to those in hospital and the walking wounded.

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Very bad do when children get killed, my prayers to the family. The story is a bit misleading. It wasn't a house but a block of flats, at least 4. That's 4 families not 1 family if it was a house.

a reply to: crayzeed

Just a horrible thing to happen.

Yeah looks like houses as opposed to flats.

Pretty clear in the pictures.

I suppose they could have been partitioned that way all the same.

But that would just mean more people/families.

I'm thinking possibly a gas boiler explosion or some other kind of serious leak took place given the level of damage.

Guess time will tell.

a reply to: andy06shake

I know Benwell a little bit, a couple of mates I used to have a bit of business with came from there.
Good people.

That must have been one big explosion to cause that much damage.

Early days yet but....if it turns out to be as a result of a gas explosion I have to ask; do you think there's been an increase in these accidents in recent years?

My most heartfelt condolences to the family of the poor kid and all the affected families etc.

a reply to: andy06shake

As a retired underground coal miner who handled explosives, I can tell you people have no idea of the potential of natural gas or propane. They take it for granted that everything is fine, but it takes a fairly small leak to lead to disaster.

a reply to: Freeborn

If it was a gas explosion.

Some owners simply dont service the gas boilers appropriately or use unqualified people to do so.

Especially if they are the likes of a private let and fly-by-night types.

Or even a Housing Association-owned property that has fallen upon hard times.

As an example when i moved in to my current home this year, 4 houses, semi-detached similar to those that just went boom, the gas boiler/cooker had not been serviced since April 2019.

Which is illegal, but it happens.

a reply to: andy06shake

I get my gas boiler serviced every year and have started making sure my parents and my daughter do the same.
Just seems to me as if there's been an increase in these gas explosions relatively recently.

There was a colliery in Benwell so as mentioned there is a possibility that it was a natural gas explosion?

a reply to: Freeborn

Me too mate which is why i raised it as a serious concern when we moved into the property.

The thing is when you are connected at the proverbial hip to another 3 houses in that sort of semi-detached affair.

You have to hope the occupants or owners of the other homes feel the same way and are diligent regarding their annual safety gas checks.

As to what happened here, just speculating i suppose until authorities do their job and release the cause.

Wow, looks like a gas explosion to me.

Sadly this seems to be getting common again, probably due to people trying to bypass a meter would be my guess.

a reply to: SprocketUK

Gas explosion is how i would call it thus far.

As far as i can recall gas meters dont have safety features built in SprocketUK.

Aside from the shut-off valve generally located next to them.

Here is a thought, companies have been pushing for the installation of smart meters for donkeys now.

What if the perceived increase in explosions is down to those being poorly or improperly installed or fitted?

a reply to: andy06shake

I wasnt on about bypassing any safety features per se, but getting a mate round to cut the main pipe and quickly bodge on a compression fitting attached to a length of pipe with a shut off valve in it that can then be connected downstream of the meter.

Sounds mental, doesn't it? but people do it, believe me and they usually only use water grade fittings and tape not gas grade which is where a lot of the problems come in down the road.

a reply to: SprocketUK

Oh i know they do.

And I've seen people do exactly that.

Fecking around with gas through is a mug's game.

And if it goes wrong, which inevitably at some point is apt to happen, sods law really, the blame comes home to roost if you know what i mean.

But the procedure you are suggesting is not that dissimilar from fitting a new meter where the gas line has to be bridged in and out of the new smart meter.

A lot of those are being fitted these days, and i do mean a lot.

a reply to: SprocketUK

Pulled some strokes in my time but never messed about with gas or electricity. One way or another it tends to end in tears.

a reply to: Freeborn
I'd feel a lot more confident with electrics since I did them at college.
One house we rented had proper dodgy wiring though. The immersion heater got disconnected and the cowboy left the live hanging just cut. So I thought I'd take it out of the switch box so my boy wouldn't crawl around and find it..I pulled every damn fuse in the house and it was still live.
I used a 1000V screwdriver to undo the screw in the junction box so I could pull the wire. It slipped and blew half the tip of the screwdriver out in a big blue flash.

We moved not long after place was a pit.

Not suggesting this has happened in this tragedy, but there are so many people bypassing their gas and electric meters due to the cost of living crisis.

I'm an electrical engineer and mainly work on industrial systems, but I've heard of many cases through colleagues and friends who work in a domestic capacity.

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: Freeborn

If it was a gas explosion.

Some owners simply dont service the gas boilers appropriately or use unqualified people to do so.

Especially if they are the likes of a private let and fly-by-night types.

Or even a Housing Association-owned property that has fallen upon hard times.

As an example when i moved in to my current home this year, 4 houses, semi-detached similar to those that just went boom, the gas boiler/cooker had not been serviced since April 2019.

Which is illegal, but it happens.

We are still owed a free service from 4 years ago. They just ignored us because of covid. A service is over £100, we can't afford it.
Especially not if they find something.
I know what people will say, but when you haven't got the money, you don't have it.

It used to be free and we never missed the check up.
But energy prices have shot up and services aren't free any more. I am worried, but so many things aren't getting done due to our physical incapabilities and lack of money that I am anxious almost every day.
We don't have family nearby and no friends who would or could help.

It's not just evil landlords, it's people like us who just can't afford it too.

I think it should be free as it is in everyone's best interest.
We are paying already so much and didn't have any heating on at all in the 2020 winter. Yes, none. It was frigging cold.

Now we can afford a few blasts of heating a day if needed.

Anyway, that's why these things explode more often.

a reply to: Hecate666

Sorry to hear about your predicament.

I think it should be free also if you cannot afford it Hecate666.

Considering what can happen if something goes awry.

You would think there would be some kind of charity or fund set aside to help you out.

Then again what am i talking about they are taking away the likes of pensioner's warm home discount.

originally posted by: SprocketUK
a reply to: andy06shake

I wasnt on about bypassing any safety features per se, but getting a mate round to cut the main pipe and quickly bodge on a compression fitting attached to a length of pipe with a shut off valve in it that can then be connected downstream of the meter.

Sounds mental, doesn't it? but people do it, believe me and they usually only use water grade fittings and tape not gas grade which is where a lot of the problems come in down the road.

East Europeans in particular are known to do things like this (and, more commonly, to re-arrange their electric wiring themselves). Whenever I see an explosion like this nowadays my immediate thought is that that's maybe what's happened.

a reply to: WaESN

You might be right WaESN.

And the explosion might have been down to foul play.

But it could just as easily be caused by poor maintenance which contributed a leak of fault not being detected.

And the fact of the matter is that people have been rigging the likes of electricity and gas in this nation long before immigration was ever a concern.

originally posted by: Hecate666

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: Freeborn

If it was a gas explosion.

Some owners simply dont service the gas boilers appropriately or use unqualified people to do so.

Especially if they are the likes of a private let and fly-by-night types.

Or even a Housing Association-owned property that has fallen upon hard times.

As an example when i moved in to my current home this year, 4 houses, semi-detached similar to those that just went boom, the gas boiler/cooker had not been serviced since April 2019.

Which is illegal, but it happens.

We are still owed a free service from 4 years ago. They just ignored us because of covid. A service is over £100, we can't afford it.
Especially not if they find something.
I know what people will say, but when you haven't got the money, you don't have it.

It used to be free and we never missed the check up.
But energy prices have shot up and services aren't free any more. I am worried, but so many things aren't getting done due to our physical incapabilities and lack of money that I am anxious almost every day.
We don't have family nearby and no friends who would or could help.

It's not just evil landlords, it's people like us who just can't afford it too.

I think it should be free as it is in everyone's best interest.
We are paying already so much and didn't have any heating on at all in the 2020 winter. Yes, none. It was frigging cold.

Now we can afford a few blasts of heating a day if needed.

Anyway, that's why these things explode more often.

Hi, I know I am usually rather flippant on this forum, but please take the following as seriously as you are able.
Lack of servicing may lead to a leak that can cause an explosion, but, in mitigation, it's very likely you will smell the gas before it becomes dangerous.

What you need to do, without delay, is buy a carbon monoxide meter, one for each room with a gas appliance in, because lack of servicing is FAR more likely to lead to a build up of stuff that can cause a gas appliance to produce carbon monoxide. You can't smell that and it WILL KILL Everyone in the house. Your dog will not be able to detect it, it kills everything with lungs.

You can get good ones for about a tenner, so providing you have a gas boiler, a gas cooker and a gas fire, that's 3 , maximum. Probably 2 as the boiler is usually in the same room as the cooker.
amazon link

I get you are hard up, but 20 quid is the best alternative to servicing you can get.