I do wonder if there's a connection. The two incidents aren't that close, but as said above - they're still pretty close and given nobody really knew for 24 hours or so exactly what was going on, it's quite feasible to think that people relatively close could believe, if told by someone official looking, there could be problems that need investigating in relation to the incident.
Say it's a gas pipe that runs through/near your property, or a sewer, or electrical cable ducting, that is the same as up the road and why wouldn't you believe them? In emergency situations, it's probably easy to get access without the necessary paperwork. Imagine asking for ID/paperwork when you're being told 'We need to get in now, or you might be on fire next'.
Classic A-Team tactics!!