ALLIANT ENERGY - INTERSTATE POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY

Incident Narrative

THE FIRE OCCURRED ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2010 AT 1202 DRAKE AVENUE IN CENTERVILLE, IA. CENTERVILLE IS LOCATED IN APPANOOSE COUNTY. CONDITIONS THAT MORNING WERE CLEAR AND SUNNY WITH TEMPERATURES AROUND 65 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. AT APPROXIMATELY 8:48 AM CST, INTERSTATE POWER & LIGHT'S (IPL) DISTRIBUTION DISPATCH CENTER IN CEDAR RAPIDS, IA RECEIVED A CALL FROM EMPLOYEES IN IPL'S CENTERVILLE CALL CENTER WITH A REPORT OF AN ELECTRICAL OUTAGE AND A HOUSE FIRE ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE CALL CENTER BUILDING. AN ELECTRIC LINEMAN WAS DISPATCHED TO INVESTIGATE. AT APPROXIMATELY 9:05 AM, A CALL ALSO CAME IN FROM THE CENTERVILLE POLICE/FIRE DISPATCHER REPORTING A HOUSE FIRE. WHEN THE IPL LINEMAN ARRIVED ONSITE AT 9:20 AM, THE VALVE AT THE GAS METER SET HAD BEEN SHUT OFF BY FIRE DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL. AT THIS POINT, THE SITUATION APPEARED TO BE A HOUSE FIRE CAUSED BY A SQUIRREL MAKING CONTACT WITH AN ENERGIZED SWITCH ON A POLE AT THE REAR OF 1202 DRAKE AVENUE, WHICH RESULTED IN A FAULT AND BREAKER OPERATIONS THAT INTRODUCED HIGH VOLTAGE ELECTRICITY INTO THE HOME'S ELECTRICAL WIRING SYSTEM. AT APPROXIMATELY 9:25 AM, DURING FIREFIGHTING ACTIVITIES, A ""WHOOSH"" OR ""FLASH"" OCCURRED, INDICATING AN IGNITION OF GAS. AT THIS POINT, FLAMES ALSO APPEARED ALONG THE GROUND NEAR THE HOUSE. GAS EMPLOYEES ARRIVED ON SITE AT 9:32 AM. AT APPROXIMATELY 10:25 AM, GAS TO THE RESIDENCE WAS SHUT OFF BY EXCAVATING OVER THE SERVICE TAP AND OPERATING THE EXISTING SERVICE TEE. SIX FIREFIGHTERS SOUGHT MEDICAL TREATMENT DUE TO THE GAS IGNITION. THREE OF THEM WERE ADMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL FOR OVERNIGHT OBSERVATION AND RELEASED THE NEXT DAY. AN IOWA UTILITIES BOARD INVESTIGATOR, ALONG WITH A STATE FIRE INVESTIGATOR, VISITED THE SITE ON THE AFTERNOON OF MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2010 AND WITNESSED THE EXCAVATION AND REMOVAL OF A SEGMENT OF THE SERVICE LINE. INITIAL INDICATIONS ARE THAT AN ELECTRICAL ARC BETWEEN THE ELECTRICAL SERVICE LINE CONDUIT AND THE STEEL GAS SERVICE BURNED A HOLE IN BOTH, ALLOWING GAS TO MIGRATE INTO THE ALREADY BURNING STRUCTURE VIA THE CONDUIT AND INTO THE ELECTRIC SERVICE PANEL. THE SOURCE OF IGNITION WOULD APPEAR TO BE THE EXISTING FIRE IN THE STRUCTURE. THE INCIDENT WAS REPORTED TELEPHONICALLY TO KEVIN WILLIAMS OF THE NATIONAL RESPONSE CENTER AT APPROXIMATELY 10:01 CST ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2010 BY JIM HOUSE, MANAGER GAS DISTRIBUTION AND METERING. (CASE #955252) THE INCIDENT WAS NOT REPORTED ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2010, BECAUSE IT WAS REPORTED TO MR. HOUSE AS A HOUSE FIRE THAT WAS LATER FED BY NATURAL GAS. THERE WERE NO INDICATIONS OF AN EXPLOSIVE OR VIOLENT GAS IGNITION. AFTER READING THE NEWS ACCOUNTS ON MONDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 27, 2010 DESCRIBING IT AS A GAS EXPLOSION, MR. HOUSE IMMEDIATELY MADE THE TELEPHONIC NOTIFICATION TO THE NATIONAL RESPONSE CENTER. IN MR. HOUSE'S FOLLOW-UP DISCUSSIONS WITH MR. LOPEZ FROM THE PHMSA OFFICE IN HOUSTON, MR. LOPEZ AGREED THAT IT APPEARED TO BE A ""FIRE FIRST, GAS SECOND"" SCENARIO. SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT (02/03/2011): NO CHANGES TO INFORMATION PREVIOUSLY PROVIDED. STATUS OF REPORT IS CHANGED TO ""FINAL"".