In Memory of April

On February 6th, 2007, a subcontractor that was digging for phone lines, hit a gas pipe and broke it. It started leaking methane (natural) gas into the ground, and the contractor left to find a pay phone to report the damage. They evacuated the area, including April’s home, so she left to do some shopping and then came back. She was told the house was safe to go in, and that she needed to escort a gas employee into the home to relight the water heater. She left her daughter in her stroller, with her neighbor, in their garage, while she took the worker to the basement. The house exploded when the worker tried to light the water heater. Neither April nor the worker survived,and the only part of the house left standing was the garage, which protected April's daughter and the neighbor.

If April had known there was such a product as a gas detector, she would have had one in her home and it would have warned her that the gas in the home was at an explosive level before the gas worker attempted to relight the water heater. I hope to prevent this heart-breaking tradgedy from ever happening again by making sure every person that uses gas in their home, knows about the Kidde Combination Combustible Gas/Carbon Monoxide Detector.

For my personal detailed perspective, from the time I met April, to how this has affected my life and prompted this awareness campaign, please click on "My Story".

Photo Courtesy of KSL.com