Incident details
Operator, cause, commodity and consequences with raw source fields.
GD incident on 2014-08-10 — NY
Operator
Niagara Mohawk Power Corp
Cause
Other Incident Cause
Commodity
Natural Gas
Program
GD
Damage and Injuries
0 fatalities
0 injuries
Property damage (nominal)
$5,000
Incident datetime
2014-08-10 15:00
Report number
Location
NY, Not Within a County or Parish
Narrative
An explosion occurred at 310 paige street prompting the shutdown of the gas service line to this dwelling. The root cause of the incident indicates that the cause of the incident was gas escaping from a fractured gas line inside the premises, beyond the meter of this property later found to be vacant. The leak was the result of trespassers cutting and removing segments of gas piping inside the premises prior to the explosion.. The service was permanently retired on august 10, 2014.National grid billing records indicate that the electric and gas services to both units were inactive from march 2013 through the date of the incident. The gas service was discontinued by the company via 'soft closure,' where no mechanical device or fitting was installed at the service valve to prevent the flow of gas. The company used 'soft closure' because the service valves and meters were inside the residence, and the company claims it could not gain access to physically lock them. A contributing factor to this incident was national grid's policy in place at the time and decision not to physically lock the gas service line valves and/or physically disconnect the customer piping from the gas supply, when the service was discontinued.
Detailed record list
Occurred At
2014-08-10 15:00:00
Year
2014
Report Received Date
2014-09-10 00:00:00
Iyear
2014.0
Report Number
20140078.0
Supplemental Number
16224.0
Report Type
Supplemental Final
Operator Id
13480
Name
Niagara Mohawk Power Corp
Operator Street Address
300 Erie Boulevard West
Operator City Name
Syracuse
Operator State Abbreviation
NY
Operator Postal Code
13202
Local Datetime
2014-08-10 15:00:00
Location Street Address
310 Paige St.
Location City Name
Schenectady
Location County Name
Not Within A County Or Parish
Location State Abbreviation
NY
Location Postal Code
12307
Location Latitude
42.8079
Location Longitude
-73.93872
Nrc Rpt Datetime
2014-08-10 16:38:00
Nrc Rpt Num
1091862
Commodity Released Type
Natural Gas
Unintentional Release
5.0
Fatality Ind
No
Fatal
0
Injury Ind
No
Injure
0
Ignite Ind
No
Explode Ind
Yes
Num Pub Evacuated
0.0
Incident Identified Datetime
2014-08-10 15:00:00
On Site Datetime
2014-08-10 16:00:00
Federal
No
Location Type
Private Property
Incident Area Type
Aboveground
Incident Area Subtype
Inside A Building
Crossing
No
Pipe Facility Type
Privately Owned
System Part Involved
Service
Installation Year
1937.0
Pipe Diameter
1.25
Pipe Specification
Unknown
Pipe Manufacturer
Unknown
Material Involved
Steel
Steel Seam Type
Other
Steel Seam Type Details
Unknown
Release Type
Other
Release Type Details
The Post-Incident Investigation Indicates That The Cause Of The Incident Was Gas Escaping From A Fractured Gas Line Inside The Premises, Beyond The Meter. The Leak Was The Result Of Trespassers Cutting And Removing Segments Of Customer Gas Piping Inside The Premises Prior To The Explosion.
Class Location Type
Class 4 Location
Est Cost Oper Paid
120000.0
Est Cost Prop Damage
5000.0
Est Cost Emergency
15000.0
Est Cost Other
0.0
Est Cost Unintentional Release
0.0
Prpty
140000.0
Commercial Affected
0.0
Industrial Affected
0.0
Residences Affected
0.0
Accident Psig
8.3
Normal Psig
8.0
Mop Psig
12.0
Accident Pressure
Pressure Did Not Exceed Maop
Scada In Place Ind
Yes
Scada Operating Ind
Yes
Scada Functional Ind
Yes
Scada Detection Ind
No
Scada Conf Ind
No
Accident Identifier
Other
Accident Details
Gas Dispatch Called Gso
Investigation Status
No, the operator did not find that an investigation of the controller(s) actions or control room issues was necessary due to: (provide an explanation for why the operator did not investigate)
Investigation Status Details
View only of scada no control
Employee Drug Test Ind
No
Contractor Drug Test Ind
No
Cause
Other Incident Cause
Cause Details
Miscellaneous
Other Type
Miscellaneous
Misc Details
The Post-Incident Investigation Indicates That The Cause Of The Incident Was Gas Escaping From A Fractured Gas Line Inside The Premises, Beyond The Meter Of This Property Later Determined To Be Vacant. The Leak Was The Result Of Trespassers Cutting And Removing Segments Of Gas Piping Inside The Premises Prior To The Explosion.
Preparer Name
B**** J* D******
Preparer Title
Lead Supervisor Upstate Dispatch And Scheduling
Preparer Email
B************@n***********.com
Preparer Telephone
315-460-2035
Preparer Fax
315-460-2762
Authorizer Name
B**** P********
Authorizer Title
Manager Upstate Dispatch And Scheduling
Authorizer Telephone
315-460-2635
Authorizer Email
B**************@n***********.com
Narrative
An explosion occurred at 310 paige street prompting the shutdown of the gas service line to this dwelling. The root cause of the incident indicates that the cause of the incident was gas escaping from a fractured gas line inside the premises, beyond the meter of this property later found to be vacant. The leak was the result of trespassers cutting and removing segments of gas piping inside the premises prior to the explosion.. The service was permanently retired on august 10, 2014.National grid billing records indicate that the electric and gas services to both units were inactive from march 2013 through the date of the incident. The gas service was discontinued by the company via 'soft closure,' where no mechanical device or fitting was installed at the service valve to prevent the flow of gas. The company used 'soft closure' because the service valves and meters were inside the residence, and the company claims it could not gain access to physically lock them. A contributing factor to this incident was national grid's policy in place at the time and decision not to physically lock the gas service line valves and/or physically disconnect the customer piping from the gas supply, when the service was discontinued.
| Occurred At | 2014-08-10 15:00:00 |
|---|---|
| Year | 2014 |
| Report Received Date | 2014-09-10 00:00:00 |
| Iyear | 2014.0 |
| Report Number | 20140078.0 |
| Supplemental Number | 16224.0 |
| Report Type | Supplemental Final |
| Operator Id | 13480 PHMSA Enforcement |
| Name | Niagara Mohawk Power Corp |
| Operator Street Address | 300 Erie Boulevard West |
| Operator City Name | Syracuse |
| Operator State Abbreviation | NY |
| Operator Postal Code | 13202 |
| Local Datetime | 2014-08-10 15:00:00 |
| Location Street Address | 310 Paige St. |
| Location City Name | Schenectady |
| Location County Name | Not Within A County Or Parish |
| Location State Abbreviation | NY |
| Location Postal Code | 12307 |
| Location Latitude | 42.8079 Google Maps OpenStreetMap |
| Location Longitude | -73.93872 Google Maps OpenStreetMap |
| Nrc Rpt Datetime | 2014-08-10 16:38:00 |
| Nrc Rpt Num | 1091862 NRC Report How to search |
| Commodity Released Type | Natural Gas |
| Unintentional Release | 5.0 |
| Fatality Ind | No |
| Fatal | 0 |
| Injury Ind | No |
| Injure | 0 |
| Ignite Ind | No |
| Explode Ind | Yes |
| Num Pub Evacuated | 0.0 |
| Incident Identified Datetime | 2014-08-10 15:00:00 |
| On Site Datetime | 2014-08-10 16:00:00 |
| Federal | No |
| Location Type | Private Property |
| Incident Area Type | Aboveground |
| Incident Area Subtype | Inside A Building |
| Crossing | No |
| Pipe Facility Type | Privately Owned |
| System Part Involved | Service |
| Installation Year | 1937.0 |
| Pipe Diameter | 1.25 |
| Pipe Specification | Unknown |
| Pipe Manufacturer | Unknown |
| Material Involved | Steel |
| Steel Seam Type | Other |
| Steel Seam Type Details | Unknown |
| Release Type | Other |
| Release Type Details | The Post-Incident Investigation Indicates That The Cause Of The Incident Was Gas Escaping From A Fractured Gas Line Inside The Premises, Beyond The Meter. The Leak Was The Result Of Trespassers Cutting And Removing Segments Of Customer Gas Piping Inside The Premises Prior To The Explosion. |
| Class Location Type | Class 4 Location |
| Est Cost Oper Paid | 120000.0 |
| Est Cost Prop Damage | 5000.0 |
| Est Cost Emergency | 15000.0 |
| Est Cost Other | 0.0 |
| Est Cost Unintentional Release | 0.0 |
| Prpty | 140000.0 |
| Commercial Affected | 0.0 |
| Industrial Affected | 0.0 |
| Residences Affected | 0.0 |
| Accident Psig | 8.3 |
| Normal Psig | 8.0 |
| Mop Psig | 12.0 |
| Accident Pressure | Pressure Did Not Exceed Maop |
| Scada In Place Ind | Yes |
| Scada Operating Ind | Yes |
| Scada Functional Ind | Yes |
| Scada Detection Ind | No |
| Scada Conf Ind | No |
| Accident Identifier | Other |
| Accident Details | Gas Dispatch Called Gso |
| Investigation Status | No, the operator did not find that an investigation of the controller(s) actions or control room issues was necessary due to: (provide an explanation for why the operator did not investigate) |
| Investigation Status Details | View only of scada no control |
| Employee Drug Test Ind | No |
| Contractor Drug Test Ind | No |
| Cause | Other Incident Cause |
| Cause Details | Miscellaneous |
| Other Type | Miscellaneous |
| Misc Details | The Post-Incident Investigation Indicates That The Cause Of The Incident Was Gas Escaping From A Fractured Gas Line Inside The Premises, Beyond The Meter Of This Property Later Determined To Be Vacant. The Leak Was The Result Of Trespassers Cutting And Removing Segments Of Gas Piping Inside The Premises Prior To The Explosion. |
| Preparer Name | B**** J* D****** |
| Preparer Title | Lead Supervisor Upstate Dispatch And Scheduling |
| Preparer Email | B************@n***********.com |
| Preparer Telephone | 315-460-2035 |
| Preparer Fax | 315-460-2762 |
| Authorizer Name | B**** P******** |
| Authorizer Title | Manager Upstate Dispatch And Scheduling |
| Authorizer Telephone | 315-460-2635 |
| Authorizer Email | B**************@n***********.com |
| Narrative | An explosion occurred at 310 paige street prompting the shutdown of the gas service line to this dwelling. The root cause of the incident indicates that the cause of the incident was gas escaping from a fractured gas line inside the premises, beyond the meter of this property later found to be vacant. The leak was the result of trespassers cutting and removing segments of gas piping inside the premises prior to the explosion.. The service was permanently retired on august 10, 2014.National grid billing records indicate that the electric and gas services to both units were inactive from march 2013 through the date of the incident. The gas service was discontinued by the company via 'soft closure,' where no mechanical device or fitting was installed at the service valve to prevent the flow of gas. The company used 'soft closure' because the service valves and meters were inside the residence, and the company claims it could not gain access to physically lock them. A contributing factor to this incident was national grid's policy in place at the time and decision not to physically lock the gas service line valves and/or physically disconnect the customer piping from the gas supply, when the service was discontinued. |
External Resources
PHMSA pipeline safety insights.
Product
Features
Company
All rights reserved. Copyright © by ClearPHMSA