ORANGE & ROCKLAND UTILITY INC

gas_distribution Incident — WEST HAVERSTRAW, NY

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorORANGE & ROCKLAND UTILITY INC
Commodity—
Pipeline Typegas_distribution

Location

CityWEST HAVERSTRAW
StateNY
Coordinates41.20535, -73.98091

Cause

CauseEXCAVATION DAMAGE
Subcause—

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries2

Costs

Property Damage
Lost Commodity
Public/Private Damage
Emergency Response
Environmental Remediation
Other Costs

Location Map

Incident Narrative

A VERIZON SUBCONTRACTOR, FGC COMMUNICATION SERVICES (FGC), INSTALLING FIOS CABLE USED A PNEUMATIC TRENCHLESS TOOL, KNOWN AS A ""BULLET"" TO CROSS ZARRIELLO LANE IN WEST HAVERSTRAW, NEW YORK. THE ""BULLET"" PUNCTURED A 1991 VINTAGE TWO INCH PLASTIC GAS MAIN OPERATING AT 60 PSI. APPROXIMATELY 45 MINUTES AFTER RECEIVING NOTIFICATION OF THE INCIDENT, 52 ZARRIELLO LANE EXPLODED. THERE WERE NO FATALITIES AND THE RESIDENTS WERE NOT HOME AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. TWO LOCAL VOLUNTEER FIRE FIGHTERS WERE INJURED AS WERE TWO ORU GAS SERVICE TECHNICIANS. A TOTAL OF 94 GAS SERVICES WERE INTERRUPTED. THE MAJORITY OF THE SERVICES WERE RESTORED BY MIDNIGHT ON MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2012. ALL SERVICES WERE RESTORED BY MID DAY ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2012. ELECTRIC SERVICE WAS INTERRUPTED TO 4,688 CUSTOMERS AFTER THE EXPLOSION TO MITIGATE ADDITIONAL IGNITION SOURCES. ONCE THE SITE WAS SECURE, SWITCHING TO RESTORE SERVICE COMMENCED WITH THE MAJORITY OF CUSTOMERS RETURNED TO SERVICE WITHIN TWO HOURS. ALL CUSTOMERS WERE RESTORED BY MIDNIGHT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF 3 DAMAGED UNITS AT THE IMPACT ZONE.

About This Pipeline Incident

Pipeline incident data is reported to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). All significant incidents involving fatalities, injuries, or property damage over $50,000 must be reported.

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