Explosion Kills Woman
BY LIZ GOFF

More than 300 relatives and friends filled the Lynch Funeral Home in Sunnyside on November 24 to share their grief and shock over the death of a local grandmother killed in a gas explosion last week.

Kunta Oza, 67, died on Thanksgiving Day, one day after an explosion rocked her home at 48-19 41st St., leaving her with severe burns to her head, torso and extremities, authorities said.

The explosion occurred as Con Ed workers were searching for the source of a natural gas leak that spread through the neighborhood.

Neighbors said firefighters arrived shortly after 3 p.m. on November 21 in response to Oza's 311 call of a gas leak in her home.

"We checked the basements of adjacent homes and we didn't detect any unusually strong odors at the time," FDNY Assistant Chief Ed Kilduff said. "We called Con Ed for assistance. When the Con Ed crews arrived, they felt they would be able to handle the situation. They have more sophisticated equipment to detect gas leaks."

The Con Ed crews relieved the firefighters at about 4:04 p.m., FDNY officials said.

About 20 minutes later, the utility crews called the firefighters back to the scene to help remove a car parked over a manhole that tested positive for gas, FDNY officials said.

Neighbors said the fire trucks were heading back up 41st Street when the blast rocked the block.

"The firefighters jumped off the moving truck and ran into the building," said a neighbor. "They were only in there for a few seconds before they came running out with the woman."

FDNY officials said the firefighters tried to revive the gravely injured woman prior to the arrival of ambulance crews at the scene.

Oza was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Burn Unit, where family and friends kept a bedside vigil until she died on Thanksgiving Day.

Six other people injured in the blast were treated at the scene or were treated and released at an area hospital, authorities said. None of those injuries was reported as serious.

Firefighters evacuated more than 250 people from 20 homes in the area and cops cordoned off the block following the blast as Con Ed crews scrambled to shut down gas and electricity as a safety measure.

A Con Ed spokesperson said a six-inchdiameter gas main pipe under the street had cracked, leaking gas along electrical conduits into eight to 10 homes.

Residents were allowed to return to their homes at about 11 p.m., after utility crews and firefighters capped and sleeved the cracked gas main.

Investigators would not confirm or deny speculation that the explosion occurred when Oza flicked on a basement light switch.

"There are too many unanswered questions," City Councilmember Eric Gioia, who joined the Oza family at the funeral, said. Gioia said the family is angry with

Con Edison for not offering an apology as yet.

Gioia questioned Con Ed's decision to relieve firefighters prior to the explosion. The Queens lawmaker is also waiting for someone to tell him why area residents were not evacuated sooner.

"This is unacceptable," said Gioia, who also said Con Ed is "incapable of investigating themselves." Gioia is calling for the state attorney general and the U.S. Attorney's Office to investigate the blast. Gioia questioned Con Ed's failure to prevent the tragedy.

"While it is too soon to draw firm conclusions, I am certain of one thing: Con Ed cannot be trusted to investigate itself. Our neighborhood has been scarred by Con Edison. We need an independent inquiry to establish the facts and to ascertain whether Mrs. Oza's life could have been saved," Gioia said in a statement

Con Ed officials have defended the decision not to evacuate, despite the strong smell of gas in the area.

Officials said a Con Ed mechanic who responded to the initial call followed company procedure and tested the ground around the area - and the air inside Oza's building.

Gioia arranged for displaced residents to join in a free Thanksgiving dinner hosted in Astoria by the Greek American Homeowners Association.

Con Ed officials said the utility is cooperating with an FDNY investigation into the blast.