House Ignites During Attempted Copper Theft

HENDERSONVILLE,NC – Two men were injured Saturday morning after they cut a gas line in an empty Henderson County home.
Greg Cochran, Chief Deputy of the Henderson Country Sherriff’s Office, said that Ralph Shane Pace and Nicholas Matthew Surrett, both from Hendersonville, were underneath a home at 656 Stoney Mountain Road, attempting to steal copper wire when they cut a gas line that caused a massive explosion and fire. Cochran said the two men thought they were cutting a water line, when they cut the gas line instead.
Both Pace and Surrett were transported to Hendersonville’s Pardee Hospital by a woman, identified as Donna Renee Moody, and were later transported to different burn units with serious burns. According to the Hendersonville Times-News, investigators made the connection between the two burned men and the house fire after a North Carolina State Patrol trooper noticed the two men being admitted to the hospital, and knew that fire departments had responded to a house fire. The newspaper reports that the trooper contacted Henderson County Sheriff’s officers to alert them to the burn patients.
Moody, who deputies believe was the lookout for the two men, was charged with breaking and entering, and was being held on a $6,000 bond. The two men haven’t been charged at present time, due to the nature of their injuries.
The house was incredibly damaged.