CENTRAL HUDSON GAS & ELECTRIC CORP

Incident Narrative

AT 4:25 PM ON 3/14/2022, CENTRAL HUDSON WAS NOTIFIED BY THE CITY OF NEWBURGH OF A POSSIBLE GAS EXPLOSION AT 449 FIRST ST. IN NEWBURGH. THE FIRST CENTRAL HUDSON RESPONDER ARRIVED ON SITE AT 4:32 PM AND A SECOND CENTRAL HUDSON RESPONDER ARRIVED AT 4:33 PM. THE BUILDING WAS ON FIRE WHEN THE RESPONDERS ARRIVED. ADDITIONAL SUPPORTING PERSONNEL INCLUDING SUPERVISORS AND GAS CONSTRUCTION CREW WERE EN ROUTE. APPROXIMATELY 6 PEOPLE WERE EVACUATED BY THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. THE BUILDING AT 449 FIRST ST. WAS PRESENTLY BEING RENOVATED AND WAS FED BY A 4 INCH LOW PRESSURE CAST IRON MAIN AND 197 FT. LONG 2 INCH STEEL SERVICE. A CURB VALVE WAS PRESENT ON THE SERVICE. THERE WERE THREE GAS METERS LOCATED INSIDE THE BUILDING'S BASEMENT WITH VALVES THAT WERE CLOSED AND LOCKED ON OCTOBER 25TH 2021. A CENTRAL HUDSON REPRESENTATIVE ON SCENE ADVISED THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO CONTAIN THE HOUSE FIRE BUT TO ALLOW THE NATURAL GAS TO BURN TO PREVENT A SECOND IGNITION. A POLICE OFFICER INFORMED AN ONSITE CENTRAL HUDSON SUPERVISOR OF A REPORT OF THE CUSTOMER'S CONTRACTOR CUTTING THE SERVICE LINE OR CUSTOMER PIPE INSIDE THE BUILDING. A COMMERCIAL REPRESENTATIVE STOPPED THE FLOW OF GAS TO THE HOUSE BY CLOSING THE CURB VALVE ON THE SERVICE AT APPROXIMATELY 5:00 PM. ELECTRIC TAPS FOR THIS ADDRESS WERE CUT AT APPROXIMATELY 5:05PM. BY THIS TIME, ADDITIONAL CH EMPLOYEES HAD ARRIVED ON THE SCENE TO ASSIST IN THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE. THE CENTRAL HUDSON SUPERVISOR INFORMED THE FIRE DEPARTMENT THAT THEY MAY PROCEED WITH EXTINGUISHING THE HOUSE FIRE. AFTER THE BUILDING WAS MADE ACCESSIBLE BY THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, ONE CENTRAL HUDSON PERSONNEL AND CITY OF NEWBURGH FIRE INVESTIGATOR INVESTIGATED THE BASEMENT OF THE HOUSE AND CONFIRMED THAT THE SERVICE PIPE AND CUSTOMER PIPE HAD BEEN CUT AND DISASSEMBLED IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE LOCATION OF UPSTREAM OF THE THREE LOCKED GAS METERS. CENTRAL HUDSON AND CONTRACTOR CREWS LEAK SURVEYED THE ENTIRE PROPERTY AND THE SURROUNDING AREA. NO NATURAL GAS LEAKS WERE FOUND AT 449 FIRST ST. THE AREA OF 244 VAN NESS ST. WAS ALSO LEAK SURVEYED, AS THE SERVICE TO 449 FIRST ST. WAS FED FROM THAT ROAD. NO LEAKS WERE FOUND AT EITHER ADDRESS. GAS ODORANT READINGS WERE TAKEN IN THE SURROUNDING AREA TO VERIFY APPROPRIATE ODORIZATION OF GAS. THE NATURAL GAS SERVICE TO 449 FIRST ST. WAS PERMANENTLY RETIRED THAT EVENING AND THE AREA WAS DECLARED SAFE AT 9:40 PM.