For some Greenfield residents, their cold Tuesday morning got even colder when a ruptured gas line forced them to evacuate their homes for several hours and close three roads in the process.
For one grandfather, that was only the beginning.
It was supposed to be a routine water line fix by the Greenfield DPW. However, it quickly turned to trouble when an excavator hit a gas line on this street and filled a home in the process.
“It was a local crew trying to repair a broken water line. As a precaution, we evacuated approximately 20 homes,” said Greenfield Fire Chief Robert Strahan.
Those homes were on West Street, West Avenue, and Phillips Street.
The leak happened just after 8 a.m. Tuesday. All 20 families were uninjured and brought to a warming center for nearly two hours.
In 2014 construction accidents have caused two gas leaks along Elm Street in East Longmeadow. While the lines have been sealed, these accidents raised important questions about the safety of digging near natural gas lines.
“No one wants a hit,” says Andrea Luppi, manager of Communications and Community Relations for Columbia Gas. “No one wants one hit because it’s a draw on resources, whether it be financial or manpower.”
That’s why Columbia Gas works tirelessly to ensure contractors are taking the proper precautions when they’re working near gas lines.
“Since January through June of 2014, we’ve only had 17 contractor hits, which is down 40 percent from the number of hits we had all through 2013,” says Luppi.
With close to 10,000 jobs involving Columbia Gas lines since January, it’s an impressive statistic — one Columbia Gas attributes, in part, to the addition of a Damage Prevention Coordinator, who visits dozens of contractors every week.
“Just to work with them to make sure they’re exercising care around Columbia Gas pipes,” says Luppi.
Columbia Gas trains thousands of contractors every year, and the first thing they’re taught is to call Dig Safe before they ever pick up a shovel. The same rule applies to homeowners.
“There’s a definite fine for not calling Dig Safe, and there’s a fine for hitting a line,” says Luppi.
You can reach Dig Safe at 811. They’ll call your utility company and ask them to mark where the utility lines are located on your property so you know where it’s safe to dig.
State law requires contractors and residents to call Dig Safe prior to any excavating project, even something as small as installing a mailbox or planting a shrub. First-time violators face a penalty of $1,000. They’ll be fined between $5,000 and $10,000 for every subsequent offense.