Hazardous gas fire extinguished after 21 hours of work
(Photo by Tyler Murphy)
NORWICH – NYSEG and local fire department officials were on the scene of downed electrical wires and a natural gas fire for approximately 21 hours before the hazards were cleared and traffic was allowed back into the area.
According to Chenango County Fire Bureau Coordinator Matthew Beckwith, the Norwich Fire Department was called to the scene of downed wires at about 9 p.m. on Sunday night on Route 12 in the Town of Norwich, and after arriving on scene they spotted a natural gas line that had been ignited by the downed wires.
Beckwith said within minutes, NYSEG was on scene, the road was shut down, and a plan was being formulated to keep residents safe and address the situation. He said by 6 p.m. on Monday night, the area was made safe enough to allow people to drive back through it, though more work still needs to be done.
“This was a dangerous situation, and that’s why we kept the Norwich Fire Department nearby,” said Beckwith. “Because the gas line was venting, the risk of an explosion occurring was minimal, but if things went south there was still a chance of people getting hurt.”
“A special welding crew out of Buffalo was called to the area, NYSEG needed people who could weld on a pipe with gas coming out of it.”
He said NYSEG determined it would be better to reduce the gas flow to 40 pounds of pressure, rather than shut the line off and be forced to check every home and business north and south of the incident for damage or ignition. He added that while this made the job more difficult, it allowed the pipeline breach to be visible and reduced any built up pressure in the line.
“In order to keep everyone safe, the road was shut down until about 6 p.m. Monday night,” said Beckwith. “There were so many variables to this situation, one wrong move could have been catastrophic.”
“We determined it was for the best that people go around, and that gave the NYSEG welding crew more space to create a new bypass and seal in the gas.”
Beckwith said NYSEG did an outstanding job considering the circumstances, and they kept officials informed as they made progress. He said NYSEG representatives will have to return to the area to continue working, but they said it is safe for people to drive through there again in the meantime.
“It was unfortunate that it happened, but at least to the best of my knowledge no one was injured,” he added. “It worked out, they’ve got more work to do, but it worked out.”
According to Chenango County Fire Bureau Coordinator Matthew Beckwith, the Norwich Fire Department was called to the scene of downed wires at about 9 p.m. on Sunday night on Route 12 in the Town of Norwich, and after arriving on scene they spotted a natural gas line that had been ignited by the downed wires.
Beckwith said within minutes, NYSEG was on scene, the road was shut down, and a plan was being formulated to keep residents safe and address the situation. He said by 6 p.m. on Monday night, the area was made safe enough to allow people to drive back through it, though more work still needs to be done.
“This was a dangerous situation, and that’s why we kept the Norwich Fire Department nearby,” said Beckwith. “Because the gas line was venting, the risk of an explosion occurring was minimal, but if things went south there was still a chance of people getting hurt.”
“A special welding crew out of Buffalo was called to the area, NYSEG needed people who could weld on a pipe with gas coming out of it.”
He said NYSEG determined it would be better to reduce the gas flow to 40 pounds of pressure, rather than shut the line off and be forced to check every home and business north and south of the incident for damage or ignition. He added that while this made the job more difficult, it allowed the pipeline breach to be visible and reduced any built up pressure in the line.
“In order to keep everyone safe, the road was shut down until about 6 p.m. Monday night,” said Beckwith. “There were so many variables to this situation, one wrong move could have been catastrophic.”
“We determined it was for the best that people go around, and that gave the NYSEG welding crew more space to create a new bypass and seal in the gas.”
Beckwith said NYSEG did an outstanding job considering the circumstances, and they kept officials informed as they made progress. He said NYSEG representatives will have to return to the area to continue working, but they said it is safe for people to drive through there again in the meantime.
“It was unfortunate that it happened, but at least to the best of my knowledge no one was injured,” he added. “It worked out, they’ve got more work to do, but it worked out.”
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