Hi All, Need some advice on behalf of my partners Dad. There was a gas explosion recently in Blackpool and the street that he lived on story here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-41374322 19 - X's House 21 - House that explosion originated from 23 - Partner's Dad's house Some bullet points outlining what has happened so far; Explosion occurred Damage assessed 21 is found to be un-safe and needs pulling down 19,21 and 23 have scaffolding erected Cause is found (21mm pipe from house owners side of the meter was connected to a 15mm pipe with a connector and over the years this came lose to the point where gas was escaping, electric kettle then ignited it) 21 is then pulled down The damage to 19; Dividing wall damaged The rear half of the property collapsed Front brick work has been pushed out in certain places Council have decided the structure may now be to unsafe to save Damage to 23; Dividing wall damaged Crack in wall from lower floor to the 1st floor Windows and frames have been pushed back into the property Chimney collapsed Some windows smashed Back Garden wall has collapsed The council have come in and removed the remains of 21 and are going to be double bricking the wall of 23 and it will be the new outer wall, they have also sorted all the scaffolding, security, clear up and other parts of the whole operation. 19 and 21 both had private renters, 19 was just tenants and 21 was tenants and owners living there. 19 and 23 didn't have any form of insurance but 21 did. Council has gone to 21's insurance with the bill and they have rejected it saying that they will only pay for work done on their customer (21) as he hasn't admitted liability nor been negligible, this means that the bill for repair work to 19 and 23 could go to their respective owners to either pay or have put on their property with interest of 8% per year. We just need to know if this is the case I would have thought the repair for all 3 buildings would be covered by 21, like car insurance X crashes into Y and X's insurance pays for X and Y's car etc. I would assume if 21 has been renting out rooms in his ex guest house he would need to have gas safety and boiler certificates every year to prove the lodgings where safe and these haven't been done and therefor this would be considered negligible. I guess what I am asking is how can we get this sorted and what sort of legal action we can take to get this repair work covered by either 21 or their insurance. Sorry for the long post but if there is more information needed that I have missed just ask and I will do my best to provide it. Thanks in advance