DOMINION ENERGY UTAH/WYOMING/IDAHO

Incident Narrative

ON JULY 3, 2022, DOMINION ENERGY UTAH (DEU) WAS NOTIFIED OF A HOUSE FIRE AT 2126 CREEKSIDE DRIVE, WELLSVILLE, UTAH. DEU SENT A TECHNICIAN TO THE SITE. UPON ARRIVAL, THE TECHNICIAN NOTED THE METER WAS DAMAGED AND MELTED DUE TO THE FIRE. THE SERVICE LINE WAS EXPOSED BY EXCAVATION AND SQUEEZE BARS WERE USED TO STOP THE FLOW OF GAS TO THE METER. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT NOTED THAT THE DAMAGE TO THE STRUCTURE WAS ESTIMATED TO BE $283,786. DEU CREWS LEAK SCREENED THE AREA WITH NO LEAKS FOUND. DEU RETIRED THE SERVICE LINE TO THE RESIDENCE. THIS EVENT IS BELIEVED TO BE A FIRE FIRST EVENT. THE EXAMINATIONS CONDUCTED BY DEU'S RETAINED CONSULTANT S-E-A, DESCRIBED BELOW, SUBSTANTIATE OUR DETERMINATION. S-E-A SITE INVESTIGATION: ONSITE INVESTIGATION CONDUCTED AUGUST 16, 2022 S-E-A OBSERVED FIRE PATTERNS ON THE EXTERIOR OF THE STRUCTURE INDICATED THAT THE FIRE INITIATED NEAR, OR ON-GRADE, ON THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE RESIDENCE. FIRE THEN SPREAD VERTICALLY AND TO THE WEST, ENTERING THE ATTIC NEAR THE CENTER OF THE RESIDENCE. THE RESIDENCE WAS ENCIRCLED BY LANDSCAPING WOOD CHIPS, WHICH EXTENDED APPROXIMATELY 3 FEET FROM THE EXTERIOR WALLS OF THE RESIDENCE. THE REMAINING PORTIONS OF THE DOMINION ENERGY EQUIPMENT WERE THE STEEL PIPE STUB UP TO THE METER SET AND THE DISCHARGE PIPING FROM THE METER SET. THE REGULATOR AND FLOW METER THEMSELVES HAD MELTED DURING THE FIRE AND DOMINION ENERGY EMPLOYEES FOUND THE REMAINS POOLED ON THE GROUND SHORTLY AFTER THE FIRE. BASED ON S-E-A'S EXAMINATION OF ALL AVAILABLE EVIDENCE, THE ONLY HEAT SOURCE FOR IGNITION OF THE FIRE WAS AN IMPROPERLY DISPOSED OF CIGARETTE. THE NATURAL GAS CONTAINED WITHIN THE ASSOCIATED UNDERGROUND SERVICE LATERAL, STUB-UP PIPING, AND METER SET CANNOT SELF-IGNITE, AND NO OTHER COMPETENT HEAT SOURCE WAS IDENTIFIED THAT MAY HAVE ORIGINATED FROM THE DOMINION ENERGY SUPPLIED EQUIPMENT. DOMINION ENERGY SERVICE LINE PRESSURE TEST PRESSURE TEST CONDUCTED AUGUST 19, 2022 FOLLOWING THE ONSITE INVESTIGATION, A PRESSURE TEST OF THE AFFECTED SERVICE LINE WAS CONDUCTED. AN AIR TEST WAS PERFORMED WITH THE RISER INCLUDED. PRESSURE WAS UNABLE TO BUILD AS THE AIR LEAKED CONTINUOUSLY FROM THE RISER. THE RISER WAS THEN EXCAVATED, REMOVED, AND BAGGED FOR EVIDENCE USING THE CHAIN OF CUSTODY PROCEDURE. THE SERVICE LINE WAS CAPPED AT THE POINT THE RISER WAS CUT FROM. AIR WAS INTRODUCED AT A PRESSURE OF 45 PSIG. THE SERVICE LINE WAS TESTED AT 45 PSIG FOR 15 MINUTES WITH NO PRESSURE LOSS INDICATING NO LEAKS ON THE SERVICE LINE. S-E-A LABORATORY EXAMINATION OF RISER PIPE - LEAK TEST CONDUCTED FEBRUARY 24, 2023: S-E-A DETERMINED THAT THE SOURCE OF THE LEAK WAS FROM MELTED POLYETHYLENE PIPING UPSTREAM OF THE STEEL BARB FITTING THAT WAS SUBJECTED TO HEAT FROM THE FIRE. AFTER THE BREACH, THE GAS ESCAPED THROUGH THE FLEXIBLE STEEL SLEEVE. THERE IS NO AVAILABLE EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT AN OPINION THAT A TEAR IN THE CORROSION PROTECTION, PRIOR TO THE FIRE, WAS CAUSAL TO THIS INCIDENT. - DESTRUCTIVE TEST CONDUCTED JUNE 13, 2023: S-E-A CONCLUDED THAT THE POLYETHYLENE MATERIAL DEPOSITED IN THE AREA PAST THE BARB FITTING RESULTED FROM THE POLYETHYLENE MELTING DURING THE FIRE AND THE CONTINUOUS GAS PRESSURE CAUSED THE SOFT POLYETHYLENE TO FLOW THROUGH THE BARB FITTING. UPON SECTIONING THE PORTION OF RISER PIPE NEAR THE BARB FITTING, EVIDENCE SHOWED THAT THE BARB FITTING WAS FULLY INSERTED INTO THE POLYETHYLENE PIPE, MEANING IT WAS CORRECTLY INSTALLED DURING THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS. AFTER COMPLETION OF BOTH LABORATORY EXAMINATIONS, THERE IS NO EVIDENCE AVAILABLE TO S-E-A TO SUPPORT AN OPINION THAT THE RISER PIPE WAS CAUSAL TO THE INCIDENT.