Warrant: Contractor mismarked gas line before deadly blast

SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. (AP) — Court documents say a contractor failed to properly mark a natural gas line that was struck and caused a deadly explosion in downtown Sun Prairie last summer.

A search warrant recently unsealed in Dane County Circuit Court says an employee of USIC failed to correctly mark the gas line in the street and instead targeted a spot on a sidewalk about 25 feet away. The State Journal reports the employee has refused to talk to investigators. USIC has not responded to messages about the warrant.

Firefighter Cory Barr was killed July 10 when a subcontractor placing a fiber communications lines underground for Verizon ruptured a gas line and triggered an explosion and fire. Firefighter Ryan Welch was critically injured. The blast destroyed six businesses and one home.

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Information from: Wisconsin State Journal, http://www.madison.com/wsj

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