A southwest suburban family is preparing to file a lawsuit after their house exploded in an apparent natural gas leak last week in Homer Glen.
Edward Kolpacki and his daughter Megan remain in intensive care at Loyola University Medical Center’s burn center in Maywood, according to a petition for a pre-suit protective order filed by their wife and mother Ruth Kolpacki Monday in Cook County Circuit Court.
About 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 15, crews detected a natural gas leak near 143rd Street and Parker Road, according to the Northwest Homer Fire Protection District and the Will County sheriff’s office. As authorities went door-to-door evacuating people from homes within a half-mile radius, the Kolpacki home exploded in the 14100 block of Parker, officials said.
The father and daughter were taken to Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet and transferred to Loyola. No one else was hurt.
In Monday’s court filing, the family claims Nicor Gas workers have identified the source of the leak and explosion. They want the utility company to hand over all work orders in their neighborhood dating back to Nov. 1, along with a list of contractors and companies working nearby in the week leading up to the explosion, and investigative reports taken after the blast.
“The Homer Glen investigation is still ongoing,” Nicor spokeswoman Kristie Benson said in an email Monday night. “At this time we are unable to draw any conclusions without knowing the findings of a coherent and thorough investigation.”
The gas leak was capped hours after the explosion, according to the Will County sheriff’s office. Residents of about a dozen houses nearby were allowed to return home by Friday night.
