McKINNEY — Emotions are running high in a McKinney neighborhood that was rocked by explosions on Friday afternoon.

Residents said they were never warned that Atmos Energy contractor M.J. Sheridan had struck a gas line shortly before the blast, giving them no time to evacuate. But Sheridan's president disputed that account Tuesday, saying his workers went door-to-door to alert homeowners to the gas leak prior to the devastating explosion.

Two homes were destroyed and three people remain hospitalized as a result.

The gas company revealed the findings of its investigation on Monday, admitting that 69 minutes passed between the time the pipe was severed and the time of the explosion.

In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, M.J. Sheridan president Daniel Brown said workers for his construction crew "knocked on doors and advised residents of the gas leak and told those closest to the leak to leave the vicinity."

Brown said some residents were evacuated and at least one person was prevented by M.J. Sheridan workers from starting his truck due to the threat of ignition. "A handful of workers pushed the resident's vehicle to the end of the street so he could leave safely," Brown said in his statement.

Atmos spokesman John Paris defended his company's workers, saying they acted quickly after being informed about the accident. An Atmos technician checked nearby manhole covers and a school for any signs of natural gas and failed to detect any. The Atmos worker, however, did not check any homes in the vicinity or request an evacuation.

The company said the technician followed all standard procedures by the book.

"I wish that we had thought to look in the sewer," Paris said. "That's just an extraordinary event. But I'm not sure what process that we can take to do that going forward. We're going to have to sit down and review that and really see what other steps that we can do."

Paris said the company deals with 15 to 20 line cuts in the Dallas area every day, and explosions are very rare.

"We are confident that M.J. Sheridan employees followed not only our company policies but also followed normal industry practices for such incidents," Brown's statement said.

E-mail jbetz@wfaa.com