Darien Public Works Director Edward Gentile said that when a natural gas line was ruptured last Tuesday at the intersection of Abbey and Intervale Road, it appears that a mini excavator was digging down to it, contrary to government regulations.
Crews work on the ruptured gas main at the intersection of Abbey Road and Intervale Road.
A crew working for Grasso Construction was digging to find the pipe. Government regulations forbid the use of any mechanical devices to dig over a natural gas line, said Gentile, a former director of construction work at Yankee Gas, now part of Eversource.
A machine can break up the pavement often at the surface above a pipe, but crews digging by hand (if they were following safety regulations) would then encounter about a foot of sand and warning tape so that they would know they were getting closer to the gas line, Gentile said.
No explosion took place when the pipe, 6 inches wide, was opened up and explosive natural gas leaked out at about 12:30 p.m., Tuesday. Darien Fire Marshal Bob Buch said atmospheric conditions allowed the gas, which is lighter than air, to rise up, and, without a spark to set it off, catastrophe was averted.
___________
See Darienite.com’s previous coverage:
- UPDATE: Restoration of Natural Gas Service Started at 11:45 AM in Intervale Road Area (Tuesday, Jan. 5, with updates Wednesday)
- Fire Marshal: ‘We’re Very Fortunate … We Didn’t End Up With a Catastrophic Incident’ (Thursday, Jan. 7)
___________
Along with police, 35 firefighters from all three Darien volunteer departments converged on the scene and began spreading out over a quarter-mile radius (according to the town fire marshal — a police spokesman has said it was a half-mile radius), knocking on doors and strongly urging residents to evacuate.
Within about an hour, residents were told they could go back home, but heating service was interrupted for 43 customers for almost 24 hours. Gentile said he hasn’t heard of any damage to pipes during the overnight freezing temperatures.
A repair crew from Eversouce worked on the natural gas pipe at dusk on Wednesday.
Grasso Construction is a Norwalk company that was awarded the contract for the Abbey Road/Intervale Road drainage sewer project. The company has been a part of some big projects in the area, including one at Chelsea Piers and another at Harbor Point in Stamford.
Two Joseph Grassos work at the company, Jr. and Sr., one of whom is its president. Darienite.com has left a message with the company president, asking for comment.
The company has resumed the same work it was doing since just after Christmas in the neighborhood — digging one or two test holes a day to find exact locations of the natural gas line before digging for the new drainage sewer pipes and before other work begins.
_________
Like this article? Like Darienite.com on Facebook and follow Darienite.com on Twitter.
_________
Asked what assurances he could give the public that this won’t happen again, Gentile said: “I can’t give anybody a guarantee that it’s never going to happen again.”
On the other hand, he also said: “We’re going to make sure he follows proper protocol when he digs around existing utility lines.” Darien has an inspector hired to monitor the project. Gentile also said: “I know the regulatory people are going to be watching Mr. Grasso.”
Construction companies must call a utility “Call Before You Dig” (CBYD) number to register exactly where they are digging. The utility can then make sure those digging know what’s on record about where a utility line is located underground. (In this case, as stated above, Grasso Construction was looking for the natural gas line and was trying to dig a hole to it.) The company gets a notification number from CBYD in return for the call.
Gentile said police have told him they expect to send him a report about the incident. Police so far have not charged anyone involved in the matter, which caused a half-mile-in-diameter public disturbance as people were urged to leave their homes.
Aside from the sudden emergency response from police and firefighters, the only damages were experienced by Eversource, with damage to its pipe (and the expense of fixing it), and by Aquarion Water Co. which owns a water main that was damaged as the Eversource crew tried to fix the natural gas pipe.
If either utility wants compensation from Grasso Construction, they are most likely to discuss the matter directly with the company, Gentile said. He doesn’t expect the utilities to come to the town government.
Gentile knows of no neighborhood residents with damage to their homes from the temporary loss of natural gas service (or water service). No town property appears to have been damaged, he said.
Darienite.com left messages asking Gentile or Assistant Public Works Director Darrell Oustafine for comment on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and on Monday, when Gentile returned the call. He said it was a busy week.
Gentile said police and firefighters who responded to the scene have been trained for this kind of situation and “They did an excellent job.” When neighborhood residents who went back to their homes reported smelling natural gas, the Eversource crews checked those homes to make sure nothing was wrong.
“You always have to be aware of what could go wrong with natural gas,” Gentile said. “Gas has a potential to end up very bad.”
On the “Company” Web page of the Grasso Construction website, the business states:
“Grasso Construction’s professionals will save you time and money by providing you with the entire range of services necessary to get your project off to a smooth start. While ‘under construction’ your project will be subject to our exacting quality control standards. Grasso Construction is committed to quality and safety.
“The Grasso Construction team works closely with engineers, owners and technicians on every job to ensure that our exacting quality control standards are met each and every time.”
Darienite.com on Monday morning left a phone message with First Selectman Jayme Stevenson asking for comment on the incident.