Friday, August 19, 2011
BOARDMAN
When a portion of one of the busiest roads in Mahoning County was closed because of a gas leak, it took Dominion East Ohio crews 42 minutes to arrive.
That’s within the standard time frame for emergency response, said Neil Durbin, spokesman for Dominion East Ohio.
U.S. Route 224 from Market Street to Westview Drive was closed for about 90 minutes Aug. 4 during rush-hour traffic because of a gas leak. Township authorities said a private contractor was doing work near the McDonald’s restaurant property at the intersection and inadvertently hit a main gas line.
“Generally, for an emergency situation such as the one in Boardman, our standard procedure is a response within 60 minutes,” Durbin said.
He said the response depends on the location of the leak and the location of Dominion crews, which are based on Rayen Avenue in Youngstown and often have maintenance work that they’re assigned during the day.
“We’ll try to bring the closest crew to deal with the emergency. ... [This situation] was exacerbated because it was in a major thoroughfare,” Durbin said.
Boardman Fire Chief George Brown said the department has dealt with several major gas leaks this year, including one that forced the evacuation of 90 homes near Hitchcock Road in March.
The fire department is responsible for securing businesses and making evacuations when necessary during a gas leak, Brown said.
Brown said the department is hearing about gas leaks more frequently. In the Route 224 incident, he said a contractor had marked areas where lines were supposed to be, but “it appears that maps weren’t upgraded.”
Durbin said the company makes a major effort to inform the public and remind them to call the Ohio Utilities Protection Services at least 48 hours before digging.
“There is a possibility [the maps weren’t updated], but we work very hard to keep pipeline records current,” he said.
Durbin said the majority of gas leaks are caused by a third party — not Dominion or companies that Dominion hires.
The 224 leak was “an incident where a third-party contractor dug into the line, not a problem with the corrosion line,” he said.
In that case, Dominion received a call from the fire department at 4:08 p.m., arrived at 4:50 p.m. and shut off the line at 5:27 p.m.
To check on gas lines before beginning a project, call the Ohio Utilities Protection Service, 8-1-1 or 800-362-2764.