Worker in Mass. gas explosion did right thing: Utility
Inspectors stand in debris, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, at the site of a gas explosion that leveled a strip club in Springfield, Mass., on Friday evening. Investigators were trying to figure out what caused the blast where the multi-story brick building housing Scores Gentleman's Club once stood. / AP Photo/Jessica Hill
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. A natural gas explosion that injured more than 20 people and damaged 42 buildings in Springfield's entertainment district was blamed on a utility worker who accidentally punctured a high-pressure pipeline while looking for a leak. The president of the gas company involved says the employee followed proper procedure and protocol.
State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan on Sunday said the Friday night blast in one of New England's largest cities was caused by "human error." He didn't name the Columbia Gas Co. worker who pierced the pipe while responding to reports of a gas leak.
The worker damaged the underground pipe while using a metal tool to locate the source of the leak, Coan said. A flood of gas then built up in a building that housed a strip club, and some kind of spark touched off the blast, officials said.
The scene on Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, around the site of a gas explosion which leveled a strip club in Springfield, Mass., on Friday evening.
/ AP Photo/Jessica HillCoan said the employee was following older markings on a sidewalk that indicated the location of the gas line. He appeared to be an appropriate distance from the line, but the markings were incorrect and the worker accidentally punctured the pipe.
Columbia's president said the employee followed the correct procedures.
"You drive the hole to determine if there is any gas outside," Steve Bryant said. "He stepped over two feet and it turned out to be exactly the amount that the service was offset from the valve, which is a very unusual circumstance."
Bryant said the employee had the presence of mind to order an "appropriate" evacuation of the building.
- Utility worker pierced pipe before Mass. gas blast
- Mass. natural gas explosion damaged 42 buildings
- Gas blast levels Mass. strip club; 18 people hurt
Columbia, a subsidiary of public company NiSource Inc., plans to open a claims center at City Hall on Monday for residents and businesses affected by the explosion.
Preliminary reports show the blast damaged 42 buildings housing 115 residential units. Three buildings were immediately condemned, and 24 others require additional inspections by structural engineers to determine whether they are safe. The building that housed the Scores Gentleman's Club was destroyed.
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Amazing no one died in that blast. I am certainly grateful regardless of whose (if any) hand was involved in sparing lives.
The fact there was so much collateral damage - in addition to the strip club (and assumed "target") - tells me there is either: 1. No deity or force greater than we was involved or 2. We have an angry, mean spirited, spiteful "supreme" being who gets his/hers/its jollies out of hurting innocents and who isn't remotely worthy of our worship.
There is no such thing as "one true religion". There is no such thing as "one true god" and there is no such thing as the "one and only path". The most anyone can say is "my faith works best for me".
I would say the people in charge of putting the proper information in that workers hands are responsible.
The blueprint was not updated as it is supposed to be for one reason or another.
I call it negligence on the part of the utility company and the city.