ATLANTA GAS LIGHT CO

Incident Narrative

AS PART OF A MASTER METER CONVERSION IN YEAR 2005, AGLC INSTALLED MULTI-METER HEADERS ON THE OUTSIDE BUILDING WALLS AT AN APARTMENT COMPLEX. AGLC PERFORMED ITS WORK WITHOUT INCIDENT AND CONNECTED ITS EQUIPMENT TO THE CUSTOMERS' FUEL LINES. THE OWNER OF THE APARTMENT COMPLEX RETAINED A THIRD PARTY PLUMBER TO INSTALL THE NOW JURISDICTIONAL FUEL LINES TO THE INDIVIDUAL APARTMENTS AND COMPLETE THE DISCONNECTION FROM THE MASTER METER SYSTEM. IN GENERAL, THE THIRD PARTY APPEARS TO HAVE COMPLETED THE CONNECTIONS TO THE INDIVIDUAL APARTMENTS, BUT THE MASTER METER FUEL LINE TO THE PARTICULAR BUILDING IN QUESTION WAS DISCONNECTED BUT NOT CAPPED AS APPROPRIATE. ON THE DAY OF THE INCIDENT A THIRD PARTY INDIVIDUAL WITH THE APARTMENT COMPLEX SOMEHOW OPERATED THE CUSTOMER VALVE ON THE FUEL LINE, AND NATURAL GAS WAS EMITTED INTO THE CRAWL SPACE OF THE APARTMENT BUILDING THROUGH THE UNCAPPED LINE, WHERE THE ESCAPING GAS IGNITED.