SEVIER COUNTY UTIL DIST

Incident Narrative

ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2019 AT APPROXIMATELY 9:02 PM, SEVIER COUNTY UTILITY DISTRICT (SCUD) EMPLOYEES RECEIVED A PAGE FROM OUR ANSWERING SERVICE THAT A 'CAR RAN INTO CABIN AND HIT THE GAS LINES' AT 604 WALNUT WAY, SEVIERVILLE, TN. SCUD EMPLOYEES RECEIVED THE PAGE AND CONFIRMED THAT THEY WERE IMMEDIATELY RESPONDING. BOB TRENTHAM WAS THE FIRST SCUD EMPLOYEE ON THE SCENE AT APPROXIMATELY 9:25 PM. UPON ARRIVAL, THE SEVIERVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT (SFD) AND SEVIERVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT (SPD) ALONG WITH SURROUNDING FIRE DEPARTMENTS WERE ON THE SCENE AND PERFORMING FIRE SUPPRESSION OPERATIONS ON THE CABIN AND TRUCK THAT WERE BOTH ON FIRE. ADDITIONAL SCUD EMPLOYEES BEGAN ARRIVING SHORTLY AFTER BOB AND WE STARTED COORDINATION TO TURN THE GAS OFF. SPD SECURED THE SCENE AND WERE ONLY ALLOWING EMERGENCY PERSONNEL PAST A CHECKPOINT ~0.2 MILES FROM THE SCENE. SCUD GIS MAPS WERE REVIEWED TO ASSESS THE LOCATION OF THE GAS SERVICE LINE TO CABIN 4020, ALONG WITH THE GAS MAINS AND VALVES IMMEDIATELY UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM OF THE METER. SCUD EMPLOYEES OPERATED COMBUSTIBLE GAS INDICATORS (CGI'S) TO MONITOR THE PRESENCE OF NATURAL GAS IN THE AIR AROUND THIS LOCATION. THE SUPPLY OF NATURAL GAS IS A 2'PE MAIN WITH A ONE-WAY SUPPLY OPERATING AT 45 PSIG. SCUD VALVE #71L 17 (LOCATED ~250' UPSTREAM OF THE CABIN) WAS OPERATED AT ~9:45 PM TO TURN THE GAS OFF. THE DOWNSTREAM SCUD VALVE #71L 6 (LOCATED ~1,550' DOWNSTREAM OF THE CABIN) WAS ALSO OPERATED TO LIMIT THE LOSS OF GAS AND IN HOPES OF MAINTAINING PRESSURE FOR THE 88 CUSTOMERS DOWNSTREAM OF VALVE #71L 17. THE 3/4' PE GAS SERVICE LINE TO 604 WALNUT WAY WAS EXPOSED BY HAND-DIGGING AND THE LINE WAS SQUEEZED OFF. THIS SERVICE LINE WAS INSTALLED ON 2-19-1993, SO THERE WAS NO EXCESS FLOW VALVE. THE 'LINEPACK' VOLUME OF GAS STORED IN THE PIPELINE DOWNSTREAM OF VALVE #71L 6 WAS CONSUMED BY THE DOWNSTREAM CUSTOMERS AND THE MAIN LINE WENT FLAT BEFORE THE GAS SERVICE ON THE MAIN COULD BE RESTORED. AT 11:20 PM, THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS REPORTED THAT THE FIRE IS CONTAINED. GAS SERVICE WAS RESTORED ON THE 2'PE MAIN AT APPROXIMATELY 11:30 PM. THE TEMPERATURE WAS 35F AND CUSTOMERS NEEDED HEAT FOR THE NIGHT. ADDITIONAL SCUD PERSONNEL WAS CALLED IN TO ASSIST WITH THE RESTORATION OF SERVICE AND LIGHT-UPS OF THE GAS APPLIANCES. NATURAL GAS SERVICE WAS RESTORED TO ALL OF THE 88 AFFECTED HOMES (EXCEPT TWO UNOCCUPIED CABINS) WHEN SCUD EMPLOYEES LEFT THE SCENE EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. JAMES GREENE CALLED TENNESSEE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION'S (TPUC) GAS PIPELINE SAFETY DIVISION (GPSD) DEPUTY DIRECTOR TRAVIS ASLINGER TO NOTIFY HIM OF THE INCIDENT AT 10:47 PM ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16. AFTER THAT CONVERSATION, JAMES CALLED THE NATIONAL RESPONSE CENTER (NRC) AT 10:55 PM TO FILE AN INITIAL REPORT FOR THE INCIDENT (REPORT #1264126). ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, JAMES CALLED THE NRC PROVIDE A 48-HOUR UPDATE (REPORT #1264233). ACCORDING TO THE SPD INCIDENT REPORT, CASE NUMBER 2019037915, 'OFFICERS WERE DISPATCHED TO 604 WALNUT WAY REGARDING A CABIN FIRE THAT WAS STARTED BY A VEHICLE CRASH. UPON ARRIVAL, THE CABIN WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES. A WHITE PICKUP TRUCK HAD ROLLED BACKWARDS DOWN THE HILL OFF OF THE ROAD AND SMASHED INTO THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE, BREAKING THE GAS LINE AND CAUSING AN EXPLOSION.' THERE WERE FOUR FEMALE OCCUPANTS IN THE CABIN THAT WERE ABLE TO EVACUATE THE CABIN. WHEN SPD ARRIVED, THE MAN ADMITTED HE WAS THE DRIVER OF THE TRUCK AND HE HAD BEEN HEAVILY DRINKING. HE WAS SUBSEQUENTLY PLACED UNDER ARREST FOR DUI AND IMPLIED CONSENT AND TRANSPORTED TO JAIL. SCUD HAD 18 EMPLOYEES ON THE SCENE AT SOME POINT SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. ON SUNDAY, SCUD EMPLOYEES WENT BACK TO THE SCENE TO ASSESS THE SITUATION DURING DAYLIGHT. THEY OBSERVED THE BURNT TRUCK WHERE IT CRASHED INTO THE HOUSE AND KNOCKED A HOLE IN THE CRAWLSPACE. THE TRUCK STRUCK THE GAS METER (WHICH WAS UNDER THE BACKSIDE OF THE TRUCK), BROKE THE TOP PART OF THE RISER OFF, AND BENT THE BOTTOM PART OF THE BROKEN RISER INTO THE CRAWLSPACE OF THE CABIN.