MEDINA – The State Fire Marshal’s office reported a natural gas leak in an apartment building on Springbrook Drive helped cause a Feb. 9 explosion and fire that killed a mother and son.

The investigation into the explosion and fire is still ongoing, said Kelly Stincer, public information officer for the fire marshal.

The explosion occurred around 3:15 a.m. Feb. 9 on the ground floor at 451 Springbrook Drive at Medina Village Apartments. Jacob Drake, 18, who was bedridden, was declared dead at the scene. His mother, Sheila Drake, 51, died Feb. 20 after succumbing to injuries she received while trying to go in and save him. Also critically injured was Bob Drake, Jacob Drake’s father, who is still hospitalized after suffering severe burns.

Medina Fire Chief Bob Painter said Feb. 28 he was told investigators are still conducting interviews with family members and witnesses.

Several days after the explosion, city workers, along with employees of Columbia Gas and private contractors, spent several days in the 14-building Medina Village apartment complex repairing dozens of gas leaks inside individual units. This was decided, according to Dan Gladish, city building official, after residents reported management failed to address their complaints about gas odors.

Out of the 194 units checked, 85 had some sort of gas leak, Gladish said; many of them were small and hard to detect without conducting an inspection. Valves in each unit were replaced and flexible gas connectors were installed on every appliance.

Gladish said he was first concerned about the gas lines the morning after the fire when it was discovered there was an uncapped gas valve in the unit where the explosion took place. In addition, a witness reported smelling gas about two hours before the explosion.