BALTIMORE – A neighbor told WJZ she alerted BGE to a strong smell of gas the day before a deadly explosion in Bel Air, stressing it was important to her and the community to know the cause.

“It’s not just about me, it’s about everyone living in a household, everyone walking on the street, people’s lives,” Fisher told WJZ investigator Mike Hellgren. “This community owes it to us. We need to know what happened because people are scared.”

Strong smell of gas

Fisher, who lives around the corner from the epicenter of the explosion, knew something was wrong when she went for a walk around 8 p.m. on Saturday.

“When I left and walked out through the garage, I just smelled gasoline. It smelled like gasoline and I wasn’t sure, but I noticed it right away,” she said.

Her neighbor smelled it too.

“She said, ‘Carline, do you smell gas?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I smell gas,’ and said I’m calling BGE. So I called BGE. I talked to somebody. I told them exactly what I’m telling you. The time, the coordinates in the settlement,” Fisher told WJZ. “Within a half hour, the BGE truck was actually there.”

She spoke to the BGE employee who answered the call. Another neighbor saw a second BGE vehicle arrive, which was on site around 10 p.m.

Shortly before 7 a.m. on Sunday, a tragedy occurred when Her neighbor’s house exploded because of an outdoor gas leak, killing him and a BGE contractor who was responding to a separate electrical problem, according to fire investigators.

The fire investigators assume that it was an accident.

The explosion

“I’m in the bathroom about to leave when I hear a huge explosion, a huge bang that was so devastating it shook me, and the house shook,” Fisher said. “I clearly connected the dots and wondered what on earth happened in that house between that time and the gas explosion.”

At first she thought it might have been a plane crash. As Fisher walked toward the destruction, she could hardly believe her eyes.

“We saw the house in ruins – broken into a thousand pieces, not a single frame left,” she said.

BGE response

BGE declined to answer questions Friday and referred WJZ to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Despite the tragic outcome, Fisher does not regret his decision.

“I’m so glad I called. I could have said, ‘Well, someone else will call.’ But I’m glad I did. If you see something, say something. Trust your gut. Trust your instincts,” she told Hellgren.

Heartache in the community

Their deepest condolences go out to the families of the deceased, 73-year-old homeowner Ray Corkran Junior and 35-year-old BGE contractor Jose Rodriguez-Alvarado.

“It’s very heartbreaking. It’s devastating. It’s just sad. It’s just the loss of life,” Fisher said. “It just really makes us sick.”

Several investigations are ongoing, including federal and state investigations into the tragedy.

Some houses remain uninhabitable.