A $140k contract to remove and relocate utility lines under a mixed-use building in Youngstown led to a May 28 fatal gas explosion that killed one and the evacuation of nearby buildings, displacing businesses and residents. That small contract, issued by the city of Youngstown to Youngstown-based GreenHeart Construction, could result in millions of dollars in damages for injuries and property losses due to the explosion.

The blast happened after a small construction crew removed utility lines in the building’s basement and made three cuts into a gas line that was thought to be abandoned and inactive. After the third cut, the crew realized the line was still pressurized with gas and that the situation was dangerous. They alerted the building’s occupants, including residents in apartments and employees of a Chase Manhattan Bank on the first floor, to evacuate.

One worker pulled the fire alarm, as well. But the building wasn’t fully evacuated when the blast occurred. The explosion killed Chase employee Akil Drake, 27,  and injured seven others.

NTSB investigates explosion

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the cause of the blast and will release preliminary findings by early July. NTSB officials said the full report could take one to two years to complete.

It’s clear that the culprit in the devastation was the still-pressurized gas line being removed in the Realty Tower’s basement. A three-man crew cut it, releasing gas and leading to the explosion shortly after.

“The explosion apparently occurred approximately six minutes after the line was cut,” said Tom Chapman, an NTSB board member.

Depending on the conditions on the worksite at the time of the accident, noise or dust might have prevented the workers from knowing there was a problem when the first cut was made. Also, the smell of gas might not have immediately been a warning. One former plumber said it may have taken until after the third cut for the workers to realize there was a problem.

“Removing gas lines is a situation in which you expect to smell some gas,” said retired master plumber Jim Gerard of Plum, PA.

Multiple parties culpable

At this point, it is unclear who is blameworthy for the explosion. More than one party may be responsible, and even if only one party seems accountable, others will likely have to pay those who were hurt or whose businesses or properties were damaged by the explosion.

Chapman said that the gas line that caused the explosion was a service line coming off the main line. He noted that the NTSB’s role is to determine the facts regarding the blast, not to determine negligence.

While gas explosions of such a magnitude as the Youngstown blast are not common, Chapman said, “this is particularly catastrophic. The damage to the building is devastating.”

NTSB video footage of the Realty Tower shows a hollowed-out structure with little remaining on the first floor. Piles of rounded rebar-studded concrete rubble top mounds of cement dust littering the floor, and a long hunk of rusty pipe sticks up like a skewed flagpole.

It resembles a scene of devastation, as seen in war footage. But a simple few ill-placed cuts into a gas line caused it all to happen, killing Chase Manhattan Bank employee Akil Drake.

Contractor trustworthiness in question

The contractor involved in the work leading to the accident has a questionable history. Its reported work history at the Realty Building doesn’t include any work permit for the construction work that led to the blast.

According to WKBN, no building permits were issued for the utility line removal work at the Realty Building. The last permit issued to contractor GreenHeart Construction for work on the building was in 2020.

An engineer’s report issued by Youngstown Deputy Director of Public Works Chuck Shasho said the ground floor of the Realty Building collapsed in several places, along with the elevator shaft. Several of the building’s columns are now precarious, braced only by a single steel beam. The situation is so bad that it has caused the partial abandonment of downtown Youngstown. That is undoubtedly a prudent move.

The engineer’s report recommended closing all buildings within a 210-foot radius of the Realty Building. At the time of the report’s release, some nearby buildings had already been emptied. It appears that the blast could disrupt downtown activity for months.

Within that 210-foot radius, buildings include the Doubletree Hotel and International Towers, a residential building housing seniors. The report also recommended maintaining a hazard zone around the building until it’s braced or razed.

According to documentation uncovered by The Youngstown Vindicator, on April 25, the Youngstown Board of Control approved a $140,133 contract with GreenHeart to remove utility lines from under the sidewalk in front of the building and relocate them in the basement. Those lines included water, electrical, gas, sprinkler lines, furnace water tanks, and data and phone lines.

“I don’t know why they were cutting a gas line. They obviously thought it was dead,” said Charles Shasho, Youngstown’s Deputy Director of Public Works. 

YO Properties 47 LLC, which owns the Realty Tower, issued a statement through its legal counsel, Bryan M. Ridder, stating: “YO Properties 47 LLC, in cooperation with the relevant governmental agencies, is investigating how and why this explosion happened. Pending this investigation, YO Properties 47 LLC will not be making any future public statements.”

According to The BlueBook, GreenHeart Companies, based in Boardman, OH, is a general contractor with 20 years of experience in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The company does residential and commercial construction, including malls, plazas, and freestanding single-use buildings. It has worked for Dollar Tree, Dunkin Donuts, and Stonebridge Restaurants. It also performs manufacturing and distribution facility construction, warehouses, apartment buildings, hotels, hospitals, and assisted care facilities.

First lawsuit filed

Drake’s family has filed a lawsuit over his death. One of their attorneys, Ben Whitman of Clark Fountain law firm in Florida, said other claims resulting from the catastrophe, such as injury and property claims, do exist. He wouldn’t speculate on how large a settlement might occur if his clients win the lawsuit, saying you can’t put a price on a human life.

“Our understanding is that [Akil] was trapped and passed away,” Whitman said.

Clark Fountain attorneys Don Fountain, Julie H. Littky-Rubin, and Ben Whitman filed the suit on behalf of some of Drake’s family, including Traesha Pritchard, Drake’s sister. She said in a statement, “Our family is devastated by Akil’s death. He was a wonderful son, brother, boyfriend, and community member who was innocently doing his job when this preventable tragedy took him from us.”

The lawsuit was also filed on behalf of Sharnette Crite-Evans, Drake’s mother.

The suit has many defendants, including but not limited to YO Properties 47, LLC, LY Property Management LLC, of Youngstown; GreenHeart Companies LLC, of Boardman, OH; the East Ohio Gas Company, of Cleveland; Enbridge Elephant Holdings, of Houston; Enbridge Alternative Fuel, of Columbus, OH; Dominion Energy Incorporated, of Richmond, and others.

GreenHeart did not return requests for comments on this story. YO Properties 47, LLC also didn’t respond to requests for comment. LY Property Management declined to comment.

Mathew Stoddard, a personal injury attorney based in Atlanta, said the costs of this and other lawsuits could be significant.

“When there’s a natural gas explosion, the results tend to be catastrophic…We had a client who was injured in that way and died several months later,” said Stoddard. “Natural gas is an extremely dangerous product that’s highly explosive.”