http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNe...0419/nipawin_blast_080419/20080419?hub=Canada There was more on it in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix. Seems the owner of the property didn't want the gas line disconnected and the SaskEnergy left a live riser on the property with 4 wooden yellow 4' stakes around it. I want to hear everyone elses opinion of this accident before I give mine. There were a number of reports on CTV that you can watch. Just type in Nipawin Gas explosion. Prairie Dog
I think it's BS, no "good" gas company would leave a pressurized stub sticking out like that, every building demo I have ever done, the stub was always cut down and capped below the ground or just capped off the main line. It's like a joke I read on HEF here, "how does a lost surveyor find his way back? Set up a stake, clearly mark it and wait for the dozer operator to hit it, then ask him for a ride back." I Googled it and read about 12 different reports, some said it was a 3/4 inch line, how the hell does that do damage like that with out even the backhoe operator knowing that it's leaking due to him striking it? I say it's the previous building owner's fault for not getting it properly capped.
having worked around these sites like many of of have, this really bothered me. I can understand any operator making a mistake of running into something. Temporarily having poor judgment and hitting a line or backing into something can happen. The kicker for me was this quote from the spokesperson for SaskEnergy in the Saturday Saskatoon Star Phoenix: "The owner of the property did not want the natural gas to be disconnected on the vaccant lot." Quite honestly, the owner of the property doesn't own the gas line and should have no say as to the safety precautions the Gas company should be taking. It seems as though they thought four wood stakes would be more than sufficient on a work site with equipment loading debris. As a side note, the operator of the Hoe was killed instantly at the site. This bothered me enough I didnt' sleep that well friday night wondering what happened and what can be done to prevent this from happening again. It makes me seriously question the competency of the Gas company.
Why? That is a terrible accident. The full details of which dont bare contemplating. Its hard to believe that, A, a live riser was left, but also B, that a machine was allowed anywhere near a live riser.
This is certainly tragic, but something just doesn't sound right about this. How often are we expected to be responsible enough to dig around live utilities, marked only by a few lines of paint on the surface of the ground, and do so without doing any damage? My initial reaction was to wonder why the gas hadn't been shut off at the curb stop. As I read further though, it's reported that the operator hit a "riser", which was clearly marked, (and one would have to imagine, in plain view), hard enough to pull it apart from the main? (A fact which would have made whether it was shut off at the curb or not a moot point.) Either the reportage is less than 100% accurate, or somebody failed to be sure the signifigance of the markers was fully understood, or the operator was paying less than sufficient attention to what he was doing.
How tight are regulations up there? Around here, they seriously stress that any company or crew can be heavily fined for not properly taking care of utility or communications lines. And we haven't had any bad accidents here in a looong time. My blame goes to the energy company for not shutting the line off, etc. and to the contractor for actually working around a live gas line...:IMO
Weird I missed this thread. This happened in my home town. The talk around town was that after they hit the line, they went into the local meat shop and got the guy to turn off all his pilot lights, but he missed on.
Why not call in a hydrovac I use to locate for precision which got bought out by flint and we would locate the lines and hydrovac's would come in and excavate around the gas line. Up here they need to adopt more strigent rules on this like hold the contractor's liable. they would definately dial before they digged and why was it an option for the land owner not to have it shut off he should be responsible. it was not that long ago in BC the same sort of thing happened and you mark my words it will happen around here on the east coast as gas lines become more common.:Banghead
So, was the incident reported accurately? As I posted above, it made it sound like the riser was what was hit, but that just doesn't match up with the service line being pulled out of the main.
Monday morning quarterbacks when it is all said and done the monday morning quarterbacks (safety officials) will blame it on the operators or the guy in the trench. it would be their fault bucause it is their right to refuse or some garbage like that. and give maybe the foreman or super a fine. when they should legislate it like it is in some states that you do not work near these things without it slot trenched and located or pay mega fines. Instead safety people will blame the operator because they are mifed because they had to look at dirt let alone got some dirt on them. I even one had a safty guy for a job I was on did not own a pair of work boots.
Im not 100 percent sure what they hit, Ill ask my dad next time I talk to him, he knows alot of the specifics. Im pretty sure the operator hit the riser though. Doesnt sound like something a fella with some experience would do. Im a new operator, and i am extremly carefull when digging, and all Ive dug around is water lines, and electrical lines (that were shut off) I do know the operator has supposedly worked for the fellas that got killed for awhile, and was somewhat experienced.