On July 24, 2002, an early-morning natural gas explosion ripped through a three-apartment building in downtown Hopkinton, injuring most residents and trapping Tara and Heath Carey, and the couple's two daughters, Violet, 5 1/2, and Iris, 4, in the rubble.

Rescue workers quickly pulled Tara and Heath Carey from the rubble, but the two girls did not survive.

In a report released Wednesday, the state Department of Telecommunications and Energy said NStar may have violated state and federal regulations at the home prior to the explosion.

The new building under construction has a few things in common with its predecessor: three levels, four units, and a connection to a gas line.

Although Leonard Pearson, the owner of the property, was unavailable for comment, Hopkinton Building Inspector Mike Shepherd confirmed Thursday that Pearson's permit request, dated July, 18, 2003, designated that the new building would have gas heat.

Shepherd said that he was not surprised.

"Every building on Main Street has gas," he said.

Shepherd also said that the building will have modern safety systems in place, including smoke alarms and a sprinkler system. It will sit higher off the ground to avoid the high water table that often flooded the former building's basement. The dirt contaminated by the July 2002 explosion has been removed.

"The Department of Environmental Protection tested the material around the site, and found that it "didn't pose a substantial threat," said Shepherd. "When I asked them to explain that, they said that the dirt wouldn't be a problem unless it was moved."

He added that he suspected that the contamination came from oil in old tanks in the basement of the former building.

Since the plans called for a new building with a new foundation, Pearson removed the old soil and "backfilled with nice, clean dirt," Shepherd said.

The vinyl-sided building will also have some new amenities, such as central air conditioning, and the largest of the four units will have two bedrooms, Shepherd said. "The architect has done a nice set of plans, and it won't be an ugly building," he said.

Shepherd points out that many downtown homes are at least a century old, creating headaches and responsibilities for their homeowners.

"A lot of people own older homes, and some are proactive (with maintenance) and others don't want to think about it," Shepherd said. "There are lots of things to think about."

(Cathy Flynn can be reached at 508-435-8593 or via cathfly@aol.com.)