Family of missing man plan to sue motel, gas company over blast

<p>The family of a missing motel worker feared killed in a gas explosion last month is planning to sue the motel's owners and two gas companies operating on the property.</p><p>Reese Helton, 44, was working at the Great Western Inn in the motel's laundry room on the morning of June 27 when an explosion rocked the 73-room building, collapsing the roof over a corner of rooms that included the laundry room and dumping debris on cars parked below.</p><p>Quinton Seay, one of the attorneys representing the family, said Monday that Helton's death could have been avoided if more care had been taken with the gas supply on the property. The lawsuit, which Seay said he plans to file Tuesday in Fulton County State Court, says the cause of the explosion was an open gas line that leaked gas into the laundry room.</p><p>"We know that gas exploded," Seay told The Associated Press. "That's not the type of incident that occurs unless there is some negligence."</p><p>The damage was centered on the laundry room. Most of the motel's occupants had checked out and six to eight rooms were destroyed, authorities said. The motel damage remains unrepaired, and is now enclosed by a chain-link fence.</p><p>Human remains, which Helton's family believes to be his, were found in the laundry room. The remains are still being analyzed at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab to identify the victim. Helton's death has not been officially confirmed.</p><p>Helton's mother, Rudine, said Monday she knows her son was killed in the blast. "A mother knows," she said. "Everyone else was counted for. He was the only one left."</p><p>Bremen Fire Chief Clark Farr said investigators have concluded the blast was a "gaseous vapor explosion of undetermined origin." He confirmed that there were two types of gas on the property.</p><p>Farr said no charges are pending against the motel owners, and that the incident is being treated as accidental.</p><p>The lawsuit alleges that motel owners Devendra Patel, Kirit Patel and Hemlata Patel hired Carrollton, Ga.-based Alpine Gas Inc. to install a liquid propane tank and run gas lines to the motel's gas appliances after the building's natural gas service was disconnected due to nonpayment. The lawsuit also claims Atlanta Gas Light Company returned to restart the natural gas service prior to the explosion.</p><p>When asked about the lawsuit, Robin Keegan, spokeswoman for Atlanta Gas Light, said, it is against company policy to comment on pending litigation. A receptionist at Alpine Gas Inc. said no one with that company was available to comment Monday.</p><p>The motel owners could not be immediately located. The place of residence for the Patels was listed as the motel, which appears to be vacant. The motel's listed phone number has been disconnected.</p><p>Helton, a father of three, worked at the motel for about 18 months.</p>