Government & Politics
Lovello Johnson

Town Officials Review the Recent Natural Gas Leak Emergency, More Details Come Out

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When natural gas started shooting out of a 6-inch-wide pipe after a contractor’s machine struck it at the corner of Abbey and Intervale roads on Jan. 6, it wasn’t just the smell that could be detected as far as Middlesex Middle School. It was the noise, as well, Darien Police Chief Duane Lovello told the Police Commission at its Wednesday meeting. 

Present at the “after action” meeting were Lovello, First Selectman Jayme Stevenson, Darien Police Capt. Gary Pavia (the patrol division commander), Public Works Director Ed Gentile, Fire Marshal Bob Buch, Deputy Fire Marshal Marc McEwan (who is also the town’s emergency management director) and representatives from Eversource (the utility that operates the natural gas line) and Aquarion (which runs a water line that was disrupted as an Eversource crew was fixing the gas line). Lovello said the meeting was called because “We just want to make sure we’re on the same page in the event we do have an emergency” with any other gas lines. “We are seeing an increase in the amount of gas service that’s being supplied to the town.

Public Safety

Fire Marshal: ‘We’re Very Fortunate … We Didn’t End Up With a Catastrophic Incident’

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Darien Fire Marshal Bob Buch said weather conditions made it much less likely that when natural gas started coming out of a gas main opened up by a construction crew, “we didn’t end up with a catastrophe.” Hot, muggy conditions or an atmosphere “heavy air” that would have kept concentrations of the gas lower to the ground would have needed just a spark near the pipe to blow up, Buch said. But natural gas is lighter than air, so it tends to rise if conditions don’t hold it down, he said. “It’s really tough to judge, but it could’ve been an ugly scene had we had a spark at the [gas] main,” he said. “We were very fortunate that we had no injuries and we didn’t end up with a catastrophic incident.”

Public Safety

UPDATE: Restoration of Natural Gas Service Started at 11:45 AM in Intervale Road Area

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Update, 1:39 p.m.:

Eversource started restoring natural gas service home by home at 11:45 a.m. Thursday, with utility employees starting to visit each of 43 homes without gas and relighting pilot lights for furnaces and appliances. “We’re moving to restore service as fast as possible,” Mitch Gross, a spokesman for the electric and gas utility said. “We’re reminding our customers that our employees carry I.D. If someone comes to the door, you should ask for their identification [as an Eversource employee] before letting them in.” Update, 10:39 a.m.:

Eversource now expects the broken natural gas line at the corner of Intervale and Abbey Roads to be fixed and service available to customers by midday, a spokesman for the utility said. Service was cut off to a total of 43 customers on Intervale and Devon roads, along with Holmes Court and Holmes Avenue at about 1 p.m., Wednesday after a construction crew for a sewer project caused a rupture in the pipe, said Mitch Gross, a spokesman for the company, in an interview Thursday morning.