Published: April 27, 2008 10:33 pm      

NIAGARA FALLS: Theft nearly triggers explosion

It sounded like a water leak, but what was happening in the basement of a Third Street building on Saturday night could have ended in tragedy.

Someone broke into 437 Third St., which houses Third Street Liquors and the Tap Room tavern, and cut both the water and natural gas lines in the basement in an attempt to steal the copper connecting pipe. The result was a basement full of water and explosive natural gas.

“Whoever did this is extremely lucky they didn’t kill themselves and others,” Falls Fire Chief William MacKay said.

A Tap Room manager contacted the building owner around 10 p.m. Saturday to report he’d been hearing running water, somewhere in the structure since early afternoon. When an employee of the building manager arrived to check on the noise, he discovered a rear door was open.

In a police report filed late Sunday morning, the building manager told an officer his employee discovered the water and gas pipes cut and found the basement “full of gas, with water on the floor.” As the employee made that discovery, the Tap Room was filled with Saturday night partiers.

The employee turned off both the gas and water and left. MacKay said that was probably not the best way to handle the situation.

“Natural gas is both explosive and toxic,” the fire chief said. “We certainly don’t recommend entering the building. They should have evacuated and called us and if it’s really (a heavy concentration of gas) we wouldn’t enter the building either, we’d call National Fuel.”

Police said crews from National Fuel were finally called to the building on Sunday to make sure the gas connections were secure. Mayor Paul Dyster, who was also at the scene Sunday morning, said the city cannot tolerate the potential for a deadly explosion from the actions of copper thieves.

“We’re going to war against these copper thieves before (their actions) kill our kids,” Dyster said. “If you get caught stealing copper, there is going to be the devil to pay.”

The incident on Third Street follows copper thefts on 19th and 20th streets on Friday and Saturday. Around 5:30 p.m. Friday, a property manager found a basement window in a building in the 500 block of 20th Street kicked in.

The manager said a quantity of copper pipe had been cut and removed from the property.

Just after 7 p.m. Saturday, a woman entering a home in the 500 block of 19th Street found a side door broken in. When the woman yelled, a suspect emerged from the basement and told her he was “hiding out in the home” and then ran away.

In the basement, police found a large quantity of cut copper pipe.

The suspect in that case was described as a black male, 6 feet tall, skinny, medium complexion, in his 40s with graying hair. He wore blue glasses, a zip-up sweatshirt jacket, dark blue shirt, black pants with stripes, dirty white sneakers and was carrying a red and black bag.

Police Superintendent John Chella said latest crime statistics show that 12 percent of all burglaries in the city involve copper theft.

“We now have two designated State Police investigators who have detailed to our detective bureau to investigate burglaries,” Chella said. “We will make them aware of this situation and every available lead will be followed up.”

Contact reporter Rick Pfeifferat 282-2311, ext. 2252.