SOUTHERN STAR CENTRAL GAS PIPELINE, INC
gas_transmission Incident — — July 5, 2013
Incident Information
| Incident Date | July 5, 2013 |
| Operator | SOUTHERN STAR CENTRAL GAS PIPELINE, INC |
| Commodity | NATURAL GAS |
| Pipeline Type | gas_transmission |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 39.09751, -95.69030 |
Cause
| Cause | OTHER OUTSIDE FORCE DAMAGE |
| Subcause | ELECTRICAL ARCING FROM OTHER EQUIPMENT OR FACILITY |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $145,000 |
| Emergency Response | $0 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
A HIGH VOLTAGE LINE CAME DOWN ON SOUTHERN STAR'S SERVICE LINE FROM THE TRANSMISSION LINE THIS ALLOWED THE HIGH VOLTAGE TO ENTER THE ELECTRIC METER FOR THE FACILITY. THIS HIGH VOLTAGE DESTROYED THE METER AND ALLOWED THE HIGH VOLTAGE TO FOLLOW THE GROUNDING WIRE FROM THE METER TO THE MEASUREMENT SETTING. THE HIGH VOLTAGE FOLLOWED THE GROUNDING WIRE TO THE GROUND STRAPPING FOR THE MEASUREMENT BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT CAUSING IGNITION. THE IGNITION WAS FUELED OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING BY A CONTROLLER VENT LINE. THE HEAT FROM THE FIRE IS BELIEVED TO HAVE DAMAGED SEALS CAUSING GAS TO LEAK AND THE FIRE TO SPREAD TO THE INTERIOR OF THE METER BUILDING. THE FIRE AND BLOWING GAS WAS REPORTED TO SOUTHERN STAR GAS CONTROL AT 3:13 PM ON 7/5/2013. GAS CONTROL NOTIFIED OPERATIONS OF THE ISSUE. OPERATIONS ARRIVED ON SCENE AT 3:57 PM. FIRE DEPARTMENT WORKED TO GET FIRED CONTAINED WHILE WESTAR (HIGH VOLTAGE LINE) WORKED TO CUT POWER. THE FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED AT 4:55 PM AND OPERATIONS BEGAN TO CONTAIN GAS FLOW WHICH WAS STOPPED AT 5:13 PM. ALL FLOW COMPUTERS WERE DAMAGED IN FIRE CAUSING THE METER TO BE BYPASSED UNTIL REPAIRS ARE MADE.
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.