The cast-iron natural gas main that served Dr. Richard Williams' turn-of-the-century home in this Southern college town was as old as the house itself: It was built during Shreveport's first gas-fueled boom in 1911.
When that pipeline cracked in 2016, the gas built up slowly and silently in a shed behind Williams' home. All it took was an ignition source – a lit cigar – to spark the gaseous fireball that would take his life.
The 65-year-old psychiatrist was one of at least 264 people killed in natural gas leaks, fires and explosions since 1990, a USA TODAY analysis of federal data shows. More than 1,600 people have been injured.
The natural gas industry and its government regulators have known of the dangers of leaking gas pipelines for decades. After a fatal gas explosion in Allentown, Pa. in 1990, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended utilities replace their cast-iron pipes "in a planned, timely manner."