PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC CO

Incident Narrative

ON MARCH 10, 2018 AT APPROXIMATELY 1103 HOURS, PG&E WAS NOTIFIED OF A STRUCTURE FIRE AT 2101 BEL AIR AVE IN SAN JOSE. THE GAS SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (GSR) ARRIVED ON-SITE AT 1122 HOURS. PER THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, WITNESSES REPORTED AN EXPLOSION FOLLOWED BY A STRUCTURE FIRE. IT WAS REPORTED THAT THE FIRE MAY HAVE STARTED WHEN A CUSTOMER STRUCK A MATCH IN THE BATHROOM. AN INJURY WAS REPORTED AS MINOR BURNS. IT WAS LATER DETERMINED THAT THE INJURY NECESSITATED AN IN-PATIENT HOSPITALIZATION. ONCE THE FIRE WAS PUT OUT, THE GSR REQUESTED FOR LEAK SURVEY DUE TO RESIDUAL READS IN THE AREA. LEAK SURVEY DETECTED GAS NEXT DOOR (2109 BEL AIR AVE) AND AT THE STREET LOCATION. THE NEXT DOOR HOUSE'S GAS WAS SHUT OFF AND THE HOME WAS EVACUATED DURING THE INVESTIGATION. AT 1653 HOURS, THE INCIDENT WAS REPORTED TO THE CPUC DUE TO MEDIA AND SUSPECTED INVOLVEMENT OF NATURAL GAS IN THE VICINITY OF PG&E FACILITIES PG&E CREWS INVESTIGATED AND IDENTIFIED A LEAK AT THE STEEL TO COPPER TRANSITION FITTING FOR 2108 BEL AIR AVE. THE CREW ISOLATED THE LEAK AND STOPPED THE FLOW OF GAS BY 2051 HOURS. MEDIA, POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENT WERE REPORTED ON-SITE. AT 2245 HOURS, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THERE WAS GAS MIGRATION TOWARD THE HOUSE IN THE AREA WHERE THE EXPLOSION OCCURRED. AT 2257 HOURS, THE INCIDENT WAS REPORTED TO THE DOT (#1206479) DUE TO AN UNINTENTIONAL RELEASE OF GAS AND ESTIMATED PROPERTY DAMAGES EXCEEDING $50K. ON 3/11/18 BY 1330 HOURS, THE CREW COMPLETED REPAIRS BY REPLACING THE ENTIRE SERVICE AT 2108 BEL AIR AVE. FOUR CUSTOMER'S GAS SERVICE WAS IMPACTED AS A RESULT OF THE INCIDENT. GAS SERVICE WAS RESTORED TO THE CUSTOMERS THAT WERE ABLE TO RECEIVE SERVICE.