Incident details
Operator, cause, commodity and consequences with raw source fields.
GD incident on 2013-12-07 — MN
Operator
Northwest Gas
Cause
Equipment Failure
Commodity
Natural Gas
Program
GD
Damage and Injuries
0 fatalities
0 injuries
Property damage (nominal)
$4,000
Incident datetime
2013-12-07 11:07
Report number
Location
MN, CASS
Narrative
Investigation of the incident of december 7, 2013 at northwest gas' cass lake distribution system tbs. At around 8:30 am, a cass lake school system employee noted gas leaking from the service relief valve at the cass lake high school. He reported this to his supervisor, pete rairdon (at home at the time). Mr. Told his employee that he ( mr. Rairdon) was on his way to help and also instructed his employee to call the cass lake fire department in case the problem was more than the two of them could handle. At 9:12 am jack palkki (nw gas on-call technician) received a call from the cass county sheriff's department dispatcher that the cass lake fire department was on-site at the cass lake high school and that there was an outdoor gas leak reported. Jack asked for an on-site contact number which he was given and when he made contact with the on-site personnel learned that the gas was now off and the situation at the school was safe. Jack then called joe roy (nw gas area supervisor) to confer about what would likely be needed to return the school service to operation. At this point the suspicion was a failed service regulator and the discussion reflected that. A second call from the sheriff's dispatcher reporting gas leaking from the service relief valve at the casino prompted jack and joe to suspect a larger problem and to get jack going immediately to cass lake. The gas was reported shut off at the casino which terminated the leak there as well. At this point, joe received a call from gary lindstrom, the cass lake area great lakes gas transmission company field technician, that a neighbor to the tbs location had reported a hissing sound and that mr. Lindstrom was enroute (1/2 hour travel). Joe gave mr. Lindstrom jack's cell number so that the two field techs could communicate. Jack received a call at 11:07 from mr. Lindstrom, who had just arrived at the cass lake tbs site, reporting that there was indeed gas escaping from our system's tattle-tale relief valve and that the escaping gas had ignited. Jack instructed mr. Lindstrom to call the cass lake fire department, which mr. Lindstrom did. At this point, jack was very close to the site and arrived before the fire department did. The fire department also reported that they had turned off a third service (at maureen moose's residence) due to gas leakage from the regulator relief opening. Although there were no accessible pressure gauges present which could be used to verify the distribution pipeline pressure, jack determined that it would be best to reduce the pressure in our pipeline, so he turned off a great lakes valve to accomplish this. At this point joe roy called mike gorham, owner of the system to advise him of the events going on and that joe was enroute to cass lake. Joe also called steve mcniff (another nw gas field tech) to get him moving to cass lake. Mike proceeded to act as the incident response leader coordinating the response from that point. With the gas turned off at the great lakes end and the pressure in the pipeline falling, mike asked jack to arrange for a fireman in turnout gear to approach the still-discharging relief valve and turn it off if that operation could be safely accomplished in turnout gear. The fireman agreed and the gas was shut off, which extinguished almost all of the fire, the only remnant being gas escaping from the second-stage regulator pilot on the west regulator run, which was then isolated using the installed isolation valves. This elimination of the fire hazard allowed for the insertion of a pressure gauge in the distribution pipeline. The initial reading of this gauge was just under 110 psig. At this point, mike directed joe to stop first at the reported gas-off sites to restore service. Service was successfully restored. The fire department was released from all of the response sites. The nw gas response now turned to prese
Detailed record list
Occurred At
2013-12-07 11:07:00
Year
2013
Report Received Date
2014-01-03 00:00:00
Iyear
2013.0
Report Number
20140001.0
Supplemental Number
16011.0
Report Type
Supplemental
Operator Id
31292
Name
Northwest Gas
Operator Street Address
1608 Nw 4th Street
Operator City Name
Grand Rapids
Operator State Abbreviation
MN
Operator Postal Code
55744
Local Datetime
2013-12-07 09:28:00
Location Street Address
County Rd 143
Location City Name
Not Within A Municipality
Location County Name
Cass
Location State Abbreviation
MN
Location Postal Code
56633
Location Latitude
47.33157
Location Longitude
-94.60835
Nrc Rpt Num
Nrc Notification Not Required
Commodity Released Type
Natural Gas
Unintentional Release
280.0
Fatality Ind
No
Fatal
0
Injury Ind
No
Injure
0
Ignite Ind
Yes
Explode Ind
No
Num Pub Evacuated
0.0
Incident Identified Datetime
2013-12-07 11:07:00
On Site Datetime
2013-12-07 11:15:00
Federal
No
Location Type
Operator-Controlled Property
Incident Area Type
Aboveground
Incident Area Subtype
Typical Aboveground Facility Piping Or Appurtenance (E.g. Value Or Regulator Station, Outdoor Meter Set)
Crossing
No
Pipe Facility Type
Privately Owned
System Part Involved
District Regulator/metering Station
Installation Year
1998.0
Material Involved
Other
Material Details
Regulator Failure
Release Type
Other
Release Type Details
Gas Was Released Through Relief Valve
Class Location Type
Class 1 Location
Est Cost Oper Paid
0.0
Est Cost Prop Damage
4000.0
Est Cost Emergency
1843.0
Est Cost Other
0.0
Est Cost Unintentional Release
1130.0
Prpty
6973.0
Commercial Affected
2.0
Industrial Affected
0.0
Residences Affected
1.0
Accident Psig
110.0
Normal Psig
60.0
Mop Psig
60.0
Accident Pressure
Pressure Exceeded The Applicable Allowance In 192.201
Scada In Place Ind
No
Accident Identifier
Notification From Public
Investigation Status
No, the facility was not monitored by a controller(s) at the time of the incident
Employee Drug Test Ind
No
Contractor Drug Test Ind
No
Cause
Equipment Failure
Cause Details
Malfunction Of Control/relief Equipment
Eq Failure Type
Malfunction Of Control/relief Equipment
Pressure Regulator Ind
Yes
Preparer Name
K** W*****
Preparer Title
Office Manager
Preparer Email
K**@n****.com
Preparer Telephone
2183263495
Preparer Fax
2189995495
Authorizer Name
K** W*****
Authorizer Title
Office Manager
Authorizer Telephone
2183263495
Authorizer Email
K**@n****.com
Narrative
Investigation of the incident of december 7, 2013 at northwest gas' cass lake distribution system tbs. At around 8:30 am, a cass lake school system employee noted gas leaking from the service relief valve at the cass lake high school. He reported this to his supervisor, pete rairdon (at home at the time). Mr. Told his employee that he ( mr. Rairdon) was on his way to help and also instructed his employee to call the cass lake fire department in case the problem was more than the two of them could handle. At 9:12 am jack palkki (nw gas on-call technician) received a call from the cass county sheriff's department dispatcher that the cass lake fire department was on-site at the cass lake high school and that there was an outdoor gas leak reported. Jack asked for an on-site contact number which he was given and when he made contact with the on-site personnel learned that the gas was now off and the situation at the school was safe. Jack then called joe roy (nw gas area supervisor) to confer about what would likely be needed to return the school service to operation. At this point the suspicion was a failed service regulator and the discussion reflected that. A second call from the sheriff's dispatcher reporting gas leaking from the service relief valve at the casino prompted jack and joe to suspect a larger problem and to get jack going immediately to cass lake. The gas was reported shut off at the casino which terminated the leak there as well. At this point, joe received a call from gary lindstrom, the cass lake area great lakes gas transmission company field technician, that a neighbor to the tbs location had reported a hissing sound and that mr. Lindstrom was enroute (1/2 hour travel). Joe gave mr. Lindstrom jack's cell number so that the two field techs could communicate. Jack received a call at 11:07 from mr. Lindstrom, who had just arrived at the cass lake tbs site, reporting that there was indeed gas escaping from our system's tattle-tale relief valve and that the escaping gas had ignited. Jack instructed mr. Lindstrom to call the cass lake fire department, which mr. Lindstrom did. At this point, jack was very close to the site and arrived before the fire department did. The fire department also reported that they had turned off a third service (at maureen moose's residence) due to gas leakage from the regulator relief opening. Although there were no accessible pressure gauges present which could be used to verify the distribution pipeline pressure, jack determined that it would be best to reduce the pressure in our pipeline, so he turned off a great lakes valve to accomplish this. At this point joe roy called mike gorham, owner of the system to advise him of the events going on and that joe was enroute to cass lake. Joe also called steve mcniff (another nw gas field tech) to get him moving to cass lake. Mike proceeded to act as the incident response leader coordinating the response from that point. With the gas turned off at the great lakes end and the pressure in the pipeline falling, mike asked jack to arrange for a fireman in turnout gear to approach the still-discharging relief valve and turn it off if that operation could be safely accomplished in turnout gear. The fireman agreed and the gas was shut off, which extinguished almost all of the fire, the only remnant being gas escaping from the second-stage regulator pilot on the west regulator run, which was then isolated using the installed isolation valves. This elimination of the fire hazard allowed for the insertion of a pressure gauge in the distribution pipeline. The initial reading of this gauge was just under 110 psig. At this point, mike directed joe to stop first at the reported gas-off sites to restore service. Service was successfully restored. The fire department was released from all of the response sites. The nw gas response now turned to prese
| Occurred At | 2013-12-07 11:07:00 |
|---|---|
| Year | 2013 |
| Report Received Date | 2014-01-03 00:00:00 |
| Iyear | 2013.0 |
| Report Number | 20140001.0 |
| Supplemental Number | 16011.0 |
| Report Type | Supplemental |
| Operator Id | 31292 PHMSA Enforcement |
| Name | Northwest Gas |
| Operator Street Address | 1608 Nw 4th Street |
| Operator City Name | Grand Rapids |
| Operator State Abbreviation | MN |
| Operator Postal Code | 55744 |
| Local Datetime | 2013-12-07 09:28:00 |
| Location Street Address | County Rd 143 |
| Location City Name | Not Within A Municipality |
| Location County Name | Cass |
| Location State Abbreviation | MN |
| Location Postal Code | 56633 |
| Location Latitude | 47.33157 Google Maps OpenStreetMap |
| Location Longitude | -94.60835 Google Maps OpenStreetMap |
| Nrc Rpt Num | Nrc Notification Not Required NRC Report How to search |
| Commodity Released Type | Natural Gas |
| Unintentional Release | 280.0 |
| Fatality Ind | No |
| Fatal | 0 |
| Injury Ind | No |
| Injure | 0 |
| Ignite Ind | Yes |
| Explode Ind | No |
| Num Pub Evacuated | 0.0 |
| Incident Identified Datetime | 2013-12-07 11:07:00 |
| On Site Datetime | 2013-12-07 11:15:00 |
| Federal | No |
| Location Type | Operator-Controlled Property |
| Incident Area Type | Aboveground |
| Incident Area Subtype | Typical Aboveground Facility Piping Or Appurtenance (E.g. Value Or Regulator Station, Outdoor Meter Set) |
| Crossing | No |
| Pipe Facility Type | Privately Owned |
| System Part Involved | District Regulator/metering Station |
| Installation Year | 1998.0 |
| Material Involved | Other |
| Material Details | Regulator Failure |
| Release Type | Other |
| Release Type Details | Gas Was Released Through Relief Valve |
| Class Location Type | Class 1 Location |
| Est Cost Oper Paid | 0.0 |
| Est Cost Prop Damage | 4000.0 |
| Est Cost Emergency | 1843.0 |
| Est Cost Other | 0.0 |
| Est Cost Unintentional Release | 1130.0 |
| Prpty | 6973.0 |
| Commercial Affected | 2.0 |
| Industrial Affected | 0.0 |
| Residences Affected | 1.0 |
| Accident Psig | 110.0 |
| Normal Psig | 60.0 |
| Mop Psig | 60.0 |
| Accident Pressure | Pressure Exceeded The Applicable Allowance In 192.201 |
| Scada In Place Ind | No |
| Accident Identifier | Notification From Public |
| Investigation Status | No, the facility was not monitored by a controller(s) at the time of the incident |
| Employee Drug Test Ind | No |
| Contractor Drug Test Ind | No |
| Cause | Equipment Failure |
| Cause Details | Malfunction Of Control/relief Equipment |
| Eq Failure Type | Malfunction Of Control/relief Equipment |
| Pressure Regulator Ind | Yes |
| Preparer Name | K** W***** |
| Preparer Title | Office Manager |
| Preparer Email | K**@n****.com |
| Preparer Telephone | 2183263495 |
| Preparer Fax | 2189995495 |
| Authorizer Name | K** W***** |
| Authorizer Title | Office Manager |
| Authorizer Telephone | 2183263495 |
| Authorizer Email | K**@n****.com |
| Narrative | Investigation of the incident of december 7, 2013 at northwest gas' cass lake distribution system tbs. At around 8:30 am, a cass lake school system employee noted gas leaking from the service relief valve at the cass lake high school. He reported this to his supervisor, pete rairdon (at home at the time). Mr. Told his employee that he ( mr. Rairdon) was on his way to help and also instructed his employee to call the cass lake fire department in case the problem was more than the two of them could handle. At 9:12 am jack palkki (nw gas on-call technician) received a call from the cass county sheriff's department dispatcher that the cass lake fire department was on-site at the cass lake high school and that there was an outdoor gas leak reported. Jack asked for an on-site contact number which he was given and when he made contact with the on-site personnel learned that the gas was now off and the situation at the school was safe. Jack then called joe roy (nw gas area supervisor) to confer about what would likely be needed to return the school service to operation. At this point the suspicion was a failed service regulator and the discussion reflected that. A second call from the sheriff's dispatcher reporting gas leaking from the service relief valve at the casino prompted jack and joe to suspect a larger problem and to get jack going immediately to cass lake. The gas was reported shut off at the casino which terminated the leak there as well. At this point, joe received a call from gary lindstrom, the cass lake area great lakes gas transmission company field technician, that a neighbor to the tbs location had reported a hissing sound and that mr. Lindstrom was enroute (1/2 hour travel). Joe gave mr. Lindstrom jack's cell number so that the two field techs could communicate. Jack received a call at 11:07 from mr. Lindstrom, who had just arrived at the cass lake tbs site, reporting that there was indeed gas escaping from our system's tattle-tale relief valve and that the escaping gas had ignited. Jack instructed mr. Lindstrom to call the cass lake fire department, which mr. Lindstrom did. At this point, jack was very close to the site and arrived before the fire department did. The fire department also reported that they had turned off a third service (at maureen moose's residence) due to gas leakage from the regulator relief opening. Although there were no accessible pressure gauges present which could be used to verify the distribution pipeline pressure, jack determined that it would be best to reduce the pressure in our pipeline, so he turned off a great lakes valve to accomplish this. At this point joe roy called mike gorham, owner of the system to advise him of the events going on and that joe was enroute to cass lake. Joe also called steve mcniff (another nw gas field tech) to get him moving to cass lake. Mike proceeded to act as the incident response leader coordinating the response from that point. With the gas turned off at the great lakes end and the pressure in the pipeline falling, mike asked jack to arrange for a fireman in turnout gear to approach the still-discharging relief valve and turn it off if that operation could be safely accomplished in turnout gear. The fireman agreed and the gas was shut off, which extinguished almost all of the fire, the only remnant being gas escaping from the second-stage regulator pilot on the west regulator run, which was then isolated using the installed isolation valves. This elimination of the fire hazard allowed for the insertion of a pressure gauge in the distribution pipeline. The initial reading of this gauge was just under 110 psig. At this point, mike directed joe to stop first at the reported gas-off sites to restore service. Service was successfully restored. The fire department was released from all of the response sites. The nw gas response now turned to prese |
External Resources
PHMSA pipeline safety insights.
Product
Features
Company
All rights reserved. Copyright © by ClearPHMSA