twenty feet long was blown out of the ground and had a longitudinal crack that ran the entire twenty feet. The escaping high-pressure natural gas ignited immediately. An area of fire damage about 820 feet wide extended nearly 1,100 feet along the pipeline right-of-way. Three houses were destroyed by the fire, and several other houses were damaged. There were no fatalities or serious injuries. The asphalt pavement of the northbound and southbound lanes of I-77 was heavily damaged by the intense fire. NTSB determined that the probable cause of the pipeline rupture was (1) external corrosion of the pipe wall due to deteriorated coating and ineffective cathodic protection and (2) the failure to detect the corrosion because the pipeline was not inspected or tested after 1988. Contributing to the poor condition of the corrosion protection systems was the rocky backfill used around the buried pipe. Early reports announced the NTSB was investigating as to why alarms in the control room for this pipeline did not sound for this failure. The pipe was manufactured in 1967. On December 26, a 20-inch Florida Gas Transmission Company pipeline ruptured near Melbourne, Florida, ejecting a 20-foot section of the pipeline. There was no fire or injuries. References Lists of pipeline accidents in the United States