BY JOHN SNYDER
OF PASCACK PRESS
PASCACK VALLEY AREA, N.J.—Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G), New Jersey’s largest utility, said it is sending 45 gas service technicians and six gas supervisors to assist Columbia Gas of Massachusetts as it works to ensure the continued safety of area residents in the wake of Thursday’s historic fires.
The utility also said it is preparing for the possible local effects of Hurricane Florence next week. The utility is closely monitoring Pascack Valley weather and preparing for heavy rains, wind gusts, and flooding.
Explosions rock Boston suburbs
Explosions and fires ripped through three towns north of Boston late Thursday afternoon, damaging dozens of houses, forcing thousands to evacuate, and leaving much of the region smelling of dangerous fumes. The investigation is ongoing.
One person died and more than 20 were injured in the string of explosions caused by gas leaks in Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover in what observers described as akin to Armageddon. The fatality, a teenager, was killed in the driveway of a stricken home in Lawrence after a chimney toppled onto his parked car.
Many others were injured, property damage is staggering, and first responders have been pushed to the max.
“It looked like Armageddon, it really did,” Michael Mansfield, the fire chief of Andover, told a CBS station in Boston. “There were billows of smoke coming from Lawrence behind me. I could see plumes of smoke in front of me from the town of Andover. It looked like an absolute war zone.”
According to the New York Times, earlier in the day, Columbia Gas of Massachusetts had announced that it was upgrading natural gas lines in neighborhoods across the commonwealth. On Friday morning, the company said in a statement that workers would need to visit each of the 8,600 affected customers to inspect the gas meter.
Reporting from The Mercury News pointed out that there have been a number of gas-related disasters in recent years.
“In the San Francisco Bay Area, the San Bruno pipeline explosion on Sept. 9, 2010 killed eight people and wiped out an entire swatch of the suburban enclave located just south of San Francisco. The blast, spawned by a steel natural-gas pipeline that exploded beneath the Crestmoor neighborhood, released a loud roar that sounded to many like an earthquake of a large jet crashing,” the paper said today.
“This one is unique and unusual,” said Mark McDonald, president of NatGas Consulting in Boston, as quoted in The Mercury News. “It appears to be an over-pressurization of the entire system, which is quite uncommon.”
PSE&G vows to help families
Joe Forline, PSE&G vice president of gas operations, said in a press release that the utility’s hearts and thoughts are with the families who are suffering and with all those affected by this tragedy.
“Safety is the highest priority in our industry. Our service technicians quickly responded to the call to provide support to Columbia Gas employees as they investigate the cause and work to restore service,” he said.
PSE&G employees expect to arrive in the Boston area tonight and stay for about three days, assisting with response efforts.
“We’ll also monitor the situation closely for what we can learn and to help ensure this doesn’t happen again anywhere in the gas industry,” Forline said.
According to PSE&G, this is what you should do—and quickly—if you smell gas, hear hissing, or suspect a leak:
- Leave your home immediately and take others with you. When outside, get far away (at least 350 feet) from where you suspect the gas is leaking.
- Open windows before you leave, if the odor is faint.
- Call PSE&G at 1-800-880-PSEG (7734), or call 911.
- If you suspect a gas leak do not attempt to determine the source of the odor, light a match, turn appliances and flashlights on or off, start a car, use a telephone or cell phone, or ring a doorbell.
Hurricane Florence means business
According to PSE&G, every storm carries the potential to cause serious damage and outages, but Hurricane Florence, at press time responsible for five deaths after making landfall in North Carolina, is particularly dangerous.
Where the ground is saturated, trees can become uprooted and bring down electric lines, said Jack Bridges, PSE&G vice president, electric operations. “We are scheduling our construction personnel around the clock to be available for restoration activities.”
PSE&G employees are ensuring that all objects are secured at stations, division headquarters and work sites. Customers are encouraged to do the same at their homes and businesses. High winds can cause flying debris, and bring down trees and power lines. Customers should be cautious and stay alert to their surroundings during and after storms.
What many learned after Hurricane Sandy, and what you can do now:
Formulate a plan. Discuss storm safety with your family, determining:
- How will my family/household get emergency alerts and warnings?
- How will my family/household get to safe locations?
- How will my family/household get in touch if cell phone, internet or landline doesn’t work?
- How will I let loved ones know I am safe? How will my family/household get to a meeting place after the emergency?
- Be sure everyone in the family is prepared. Go to sesamestreet.org/toolkits/ready to download the PSEG and Sesame Street “Let’s Get Ready!” emergency preparedness app for young children.
Make an emergency kit that includes, at minimum:
- One gallon of water per person, per day for three days
- A three day supply of non-perishable foods and a manual can opener
- A battery-powered radio and fresh batteries
- Flashlights and extra batteries; and,
- A first aid kit.
- Consider purchasing a portable gas generator. More information on how to prepare an emergency plan and kit is available at ready.gov.
Stay away from downed wires:
- Downed wires should always be considered “live.” Do not approach or drive over a downed line and do not touch anything it might be in contact with. If a wire falls on or near your car, stay inside the car, call 911, and do not get out until PSE&G deenergizes the line. If you must get out of the vehicle because it is on fire, jump as far as possible away from the vehicle, with both feet landing on the ground at the same time, and hop or shuffle away.
Other important safety notes:
- To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, do not run any gasoline-powered generators in a garage or any other enclosed space.
- If you are on life-sustaining medical equipment, ensure that you have alerted PSE&G in advance and notify your local police and fire departments.