Safety Exercises to Mark the 4th Anniversary of Deadly 2011 Gas ExplosionWFMZ Allentown.

Four years ago Monday, a gas explosion rocked the city of Allentown killing several people.

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Read more from WFMZ.com at: http://www.wfmz.com/news/news-regional-lehighvalley/anniversary-of-deadly-gas-explosion-in-2011/31185272
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February 10 is the four year anniversary of the 2011 Allentown gas explosion that killed five people, ranging in ages from 4 months to 79 years old...

Officials said the blast was caused by a crack in an old UGI cast iron pipe.

A spokesman for the utility company said safety exercises were conducted Monday to mark the four year anniversary of the Allentown explosion.

Photo Gallery http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-pictures-4-years-ago-the-13th-and-allen-gas-explosion-20150210-photogallery.html

WATCH: The Honorable Ed Pawlowski, Mayor, Allentown PA

One Year Later – What has the Public Learned from the San Bruno Tragedy? Pipeline Safety Trust Annual Conference 2011. Following the 2011 Allentown Explosion, Mayor Pawlowski’s explains the need for regulations to require safety measures such as regular inspections, remote shutoff valves, and other protections to prevent leaks and explosions in the nation’s aging infrastructure such as Allentown's 120 year old gas distribution pipelines.

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The Need for a Mayors’ Council on Pipeline Safety, Ed Pawlowski, Mayor, Allentown, PA (pdf, 6.9MB) http://pstrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/pipeline-safetyII.pdf

Mayor's Council on Pipeline Safety http://www.mayorspipeline.org/  MCPS is a national, bipartisan team of mayors, elected officials, fire chiefs, first responders, government, NGOs, educators and citizens.

UGI cited over safety violations in Allentown gas explosion

Investigators recommend the utility be fined $386,000

http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-allentown-gas-explosion-investigation-20120611,0,5815506.story

By Scott Kraus, Of The Morning Call

1:34 p.m. EDT, June 11, 2012
Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission investigators have cited UGI Utilities for multiple safety violations in connection with the devastating 2011 gas explosion in Allentown, recommending a series of corrective actions and the imposition of a $386,000 fine on the utility, the maximum allowed by law.

The cause, as suspected, was a leak emanating from a crack in an 83-year-old cast-iron gas distribution line buried beneath Allen Street. The formation of the crack was accelerated by corrosion where the pipe was supported by wooden blocks.

The findings are a result of a 16-month investigation conducted by the PUC in cooperation with UGI Utilities, whose gas lines erupted in the late evening of Feb. 9, 2011, at 13th and Allen streets, flattening eight homes and killing five people.