Gas Company Dispatcher Not on Drugs, Test Shows

A Southern California Gas Co. dispatcher was not under the influence of drugs Sept. 23 when she refused to send a service crew to a Lakewood home where, 48 hours later, a gas explosion critically injured a family of three.

The dispatcher, whom gas company officials have refused to name, was ordered to take a routine drug test after it was learned that she ignored a complaint phoned in by a neighbor who heard a loud hissing sound coming from the home of Debra Bell. Bell and her two children, ages 4 and 5, were critically burned in the ensuing explosion that gutted the house.

“The test results were free of any trace of illegal substances,” gas company spokesman Ralph Cohen said Wednesday. He said the dispatcher was disciplined in accordance with labor union and company policy, although he would not elaborate. She was not fired, he said.

Deputy Terry Danielson of the Los Angeles County sheriff’s explosives detail is investigating whether the blast was accidental or intentional.