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Coroner identifies man found dead at duplex blast site

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Staff photo by Brandon Smith-Hebson

Authorities believe workers struck a gas line in Fairborn.

By Marc Katz and Randy Tucker
Staff Writers Updated 7:53 AM Thursday, November 17, 2011

FAIRBORN — The body of a 71-year-old man found buried beneath a cement wall in a hole after an explosion at a duplex in Fairborn has been identified as a Springfield man.

The explosion Saturday at 367-369 Wayne Drive claimed the life of James R. Davis of Springfield-Jamestown Road in Springfield.

An official ruling has not yet been made on Davis’ death, according to Claude Lyons, administrator for the Greene County Coroner’s office.

The area where Davis’s body was found was being excavated when a gas line exploded.

The explosion ripped into the homes on either side of the duplex and injured at least five other people, police said.

There are unanswered questions about the explosion. The investigation will continue, but authorities believe it likely was caused by a ruptured gas line struck by men who were working on something else, possibly a water line.

It’s not clear if Davis was doing any of the work or just watching.

Chase Kelley, a spokeswoman for the local gas utility, Vectren Corp., said the tragedy may have been avoided if the men doing the work had followed the proper procedures.

“We’ve looked at our records ... and we have found that it seems these contractors did not follow the call-before-you-dig process,’’ said Kelley, referring to the 811 call-before-you-dig service number.

The law requires contractors and individuals to call the number at least 48 hours before work begins so local utilities can mark underground power lines, pipes, and cables to avoid, Kelley said.

“People don’t realize that there are thousands of miles of underground infrastructure lying beneath their feet,’’ she said. “If you accidentally strike it, it can be a serious issue. And we’ve seen that the damage can be severe.’’

City of Fairborn Engineer James Sawyer said Monday that the city had no permits for that address for water or sewer work or for right of way work.

Crews clearing debris from the explosion and fire that subsequently engulfed the duplex discovered Davis’s body at about 2:15 p.m. Sunday in front of the property where the duplex once stood.

The wall was part of the duplex’s foundation and apparently collapsed on Davis during the explosion, obscuring him from those searching for victims.

“Most of our focus has been to account for all the folks involved,” said Fairborn Fire Marshal Carl Day said.

Following the explosion, three children were taken to the Children’s Medical Center, where two of them were reported in good condition Sunday. One was taken to Cincinnati Shriner’s Hospital. Two other people also were hurt. It was unclear how serious the injuries to the child taken to Shriner’s and the other two people were.

“It could have been much worse,” Day said. “I’ll just stop there.”

Day said that the details of what happened are unclear. According to the Greene County Auditor’s Office, the property is owned by Dolores Dulaney. Dulaney did not respond to repeated phone calls seeking comment.

“It was pretty hot there last night so we couldn’t get into a lot of places. Then, the area in front filled with water,” he said. “This morning, we started the search again at about 8. We brought in outside excavation equipment.”

A backhoe and bulldozer worked the lot for about four hours, filling dump trucks that took debris to another location for closer sifting. When almost all the debris was removed from the hole, the wall was lifted and Davis’s body was discovered.

Once Davis’ body was found, fire trucks were moved in front of the work to keep media and neighbors from watching the body being extracted.

“It’s been tough on the family,” Day said.

Staff Writer Kelli Wynn contributed to this report. Contact this reporter at 225-2157 or mkatz@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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