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Yankee Gas fined over fire
Safety violations tied to destroyed home, authority says
WATERBURY — Yankee Gas Services Co. was fined $150,000 for its role in a fire that destroyed a multifamily home at 55-61 Proctor St. on March 18.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority issued a ruling Friday that says Yankee Gas violated four federal regulations regarding pipeline safety, which was "the cause of the natural gas release and subsequent fire."
The fire at 55-61 Proctor St. was fueled by natural gas, said Fire Chief David Martin. There were no injuries, but the house was a total loss.
Martin said fire marshals were unable to determine the cause of ignition due to the severity of damage to the house.
The fire began after a worker for Burns Construction, who was working in a crawl space under the house, used an electric reciprocating saw to cut through a service line he believed had been disconnected.
This caused a high pressure natural gas leak, according to PURA. The worker tried to stop the flow of gas with his finger, but to no avail. He evacuated residents shortly before the fire began.
PURA reviewed the events leading to the fire and determined that Yankee Gas had failed to abandon a service line on Proctor Street when a new line was installed in 2011.
A Yankee Gas technician added the new service line to the company's mapping system and removed the original line — "despite there being no indication that the service line had been removed from service," according to PURA's report.
In 2012, Yankee Gas began replacing 1940s steel natural gas mains in the Proctor Street area with new plastic mains. A contractor, Burns Construction, performed the work.
Sargis Associates, which Yankee Gas hired to inspect the project, assembled a punch list of tasks that needed to be done. Sargis inspectors and Burns Construction reviewed the punch list with a Yankee Gas construction engineer, according to the report.
The punch list did not address the service line at 55-61 Proctor St. that didn't appear on maps but was still carrying natural gas. The fire occurred four weeks later.
Although the work was done by contractors, PURA's ruling only affects Yankee Gas.
"They're responsible for the actions of their contractors, so we hold them accountable for anything that involves contractors they have hired," said Dennis Schain, spokesman for the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, of which PURA is a part.
PURA's ruling orders Yankee Gas to do the following:
Pay a penalty of $150,000 to the state.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority issued a ruling Friday that says Yankee Gas violated four federal regulations regarding pipeline safety, which was "the cause of the natural gas release and subsequent fire."
The fire at 55-61 Proctor St. was fueled by natural gas, said Fire Chief David Martin. There were no injuries, but the house was a total loss.
Martin said fire marshals were unable to determine the cause of ignition due to the severity of damage to the house.
The fire began after a worker for Burns Construction, who was working in a crawl space under the house, used an electric reciprocating saw to cut through a service line he believed had been disconnected.
This caused a high pressure natural gas leak, according to PURA. The worker tried to stop the flow of gas with his finger, but to no avail. He evacuated residents shortly before the fire began.
PURA reviewed the events leading to the fire and determined that Yankee Gas had failed to abandon a service line on Proctor Street when a new line was installed in 2011.
A Yankee Gas technician added the new service line to the company's mapping system and removed the original line — "despite there being no indication that the service line had been removed from service," according to PURA's report.
In 2012, Yankee Gas began replacing 1940s steel natural gas mains in the Proctor Street area with new plastic mains. A contractor, Burns Construction, performed the work.
Sargis Associates, which Yankee Gas hired to inspect the project, assembled a punch list of tasks that needed to be done. Sargis inspectors and Burns Construction reviewed the punch list with a Yankee Gas construction engineer, according to the report.
The punch list did not address the service line at 55-61 Proctor St. that didn't appear on maps but was still carrying natural gas. The fire occurred four weeks later.
Although the work was done by contractors, PURA's ruling only affects Yankee Gas.
"They're responsible for the actions of their contractors, so we hold them accountable for anything that involves contractors they have hired," said Dennis Schain, spokesman for the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, of which PURA is a part.
PURA's ruling orders Yankee Gas to do the following:
Pay a penalty of $150,000 to the state.
Develop a procedure to identify when a service line must be disconnected from the main when a new service line is installed.
Develop a policy outlining the steps used to determine if a service line is active.
Conduct an audit of its mapping system, looking at 20 percent of the services replaced during 2011. In each case, Yankee Gas must determine whether the old service was actually cut off from the main, and whether maps correctly show the old service as abandoned.
Conduct an audit of its mapping system, looking at 20 percent of the services replaced during 2011. In each case, Yankee Gas must determine whether the old service was actually cut off from the main, and whether maps correctly show the old service as abandoned.
Retrain mapping system employees on the procedure for updating records.
Send a letter to the mayor and fire chief of Waterbury explaining the incident and steps taken to avoid such incidents on the future.
Notify PURA that it has complied with these orders by Oct. 28.
Yankee Gas has 20 days to contest PURA's ruling, but spokesman Mitch Gross said the company will comply with the order.
Gross wouldn't answer other questions, but offered this statement from Yankee Gas: "We've reviewed PURA's decision and have, in fact, already been addressing many of their recommendations in the decision. Our first priority and obligation is always the safety of our customers and the public."
Send a letter to the mayor and fire chief of Waterbury explaining the incident and steps taken to avoid such incidents on the future.
Notify PURA that it has complied with these orders by Oct. 28.
Yankee Gas has 20 days to contest PURA's ruling, but spokesman Mitch Gross said the company will comply with the order.
Gross wouldn't answer other questions, but offered this statement from Yankee Gas: "We've reviewed PURA's decision and have, in fact, already been addressing many of their recommendations in the decision. Our first priority and obligation is always the safety of our customers and the public."