BY FRANK MONTAGNA
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When the fire department responds to a utility emergency, it will often arrive before the utility company, even if the company was notified before the department. Our response time is just way better than theirs. Gas companies are lucky to arrive in 20 minutes, whereas the electric company’s response time can be much longer.
The utilities’ response times vary according to a number of factors. Utility vehicles do not respond with lights and sirens, nor can they drive through traffic lights or move traffic out of their way with air horns. Also, their bases typically are not as strategically placed or as numerous as firehouses, and the type of incident and how it is reported to them impact the priority level assigned and, hence, their response times. Not all incidents are equally dangerous or have the same potential to cause damage. Utility response to a reported down wire will receive a lower priority than to a down pole involving a vehicle fire and a transformer (photo 1).
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| (1) Photo by Doug Leihbacher. |
Each utility has a limited number of responders; if they are already operating at other emergencies, they can’t just drop what they are doing to respond to your job. If your emergency is a high priority, they may be ordered to stop work where they are and respond to you, but they have to leave the scene safe where they are already working. This may take some time-since they don’t have lights and sirens, they must stop at lights and may get stuck in traffic.
A smoking manhole, for instance, gets a lower priority than a blown manhole cover, a flaming manhole, or a transformer fire. A manhole fire extending into a building is a high response priority, as are elevated carbon monoxide (CO)readings in a building resulting from a manhole fire. If you respond to a secondary wire on the ground during severe wind or a snowstorm, there may be numerous wires down and all of the utility’s available crews may already be tied up at similar incidents, resulting in an extended response time. If, however, your down wire is a primary wire and it is on an occupied vehicle, it warrants a higher priority.
Utility response to an electrical substation incident is typically faster than other electrical responses because of the negative impact it can have on the electrical grid. A transformer fire or a fire exposing a transformer at a substation usually elicits a relatively quick response. If a transformer fire extends to other transformers or if an exposure fire damages a transformer, the utility may have to drop customers off the electrical grid. They don’t like doing that, so their response times will typically be relatively quick. Some substations are staffed, and the unstaffed ones are usually monitored. When a problem arises in an unstaffed substation, the utility may have already dispatched a response crew even before you were notified, but that does not necessarily mean that they will get there before you. The hazards involved in a substation response necessitate that a utility representative be on the scene before entry is made into the facility (photo 2). A slight odor of gas outdoors will receive a lower response priority than will a verified damaged gas main with gas leaking, and a defective gas stove is a lower priority than a damaged and leaking gas meter.
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| (2) Photo by Eric Bachman. |
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The Lone Ranger
The initial utility response is typically one utility representative. He will be the “lone ranger,” not the cavalry riding to your rescue. This single utility worker and his truck full of tools and equipment are likely all of the help you are getting for a while. Knowing that you will be there first in many instances should alert you to the need to educate yourself on the potential hazards, the safety measures needed, as well as the appropriate actions to take and to refrain from taking at these incidents.
I will discuss how you can acquire this needed education later in this article. The response of a single well-equipped utility worker is often, but not always, adequate. In photo 3, the utility worker is checking an electric manhole for the presence of natural gas. A call for additional assistance will necessitate an additional wait time for help to arrive.
Utility Arrival
When the utility representative arrives at your incident, he has a number of tasks to perform: make his own size-up, identify/evaluate the hazard, decide on a course of action, and determine if additional utility response is needed. He will have to call his dispatcher, relay to him the present conditions, and request any additional help that he needs or that his standard operating procedures (SOPs) mandate. Keep in mind that the response time of any additional help might be even longer than the utility’s initial response time.
At some point, shortly after his arrival, the utility’s responder should report to you for a briefing as to what has transpired since your arrival. At this time, point out the hazards you have noticed and let him know any action you have taken or are contemplating taking. At the conclusion of his size-up, you should ask him what additional hazards or problems he has discovered and what actions you can take to mitigate the danger. Of course, he may need to begin immediate mitigation if there is an imminent hazard that he can address, but you need to talk to this person. It might be useful to assign a firefighter to him to receive and relay any critical information, discoveries, or requests for assistance.
What to Do
Let’s assume that you are on the scene of a utility emergency and awaiting the response of the utility experts. That’s right-experts. They deal with utility emergencies every day; you don’t. However, since you arrived first, you have to decide what you are going to do while waiting for them and do it without their expert help or advice. You can block off the area and do nothing. You can take some action to mitigate the hazard. You can rescue, evacuate, or shelter in place those at risk from the hazards. All or some combination of these actions may be the correct actions to take, depending on the circumstances. Conversely, any of them can also be the wrong actions to take. You need the knowledge to determine which is best and the skills and tools to safely perform the selected tasks. The need for utility-related education should be evident.
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Natural Gas Main Leak
What kind of help and advice can you expect from this “lone ranger”? At an outdoor gas emergency, the utility responder brings expertise in meter reading, knowledge of how gas migrates underground and into a building, the ability to track it underground, and the skills and the tools to stop the flow of gas in most cases. He will know how to locate the underground gas lines and isolate the appropriate valves to shut down the leak. He may need additional help to stop the flow of gas in some instances.
If a valve is inoperable or if there are no valves on a leaking section of pipe, work crews will have to come in and dig down to the pipe to address the leak. That means you will have to wait until the work crews arrive, cut through the pavement, excavate to expose the pipe on either side of the leak, cut into the live gas pipe and insert inflatable balloons into the pipe, or take some other action to stop the gas flow. Find out from the on-scene utility representative how long he expects this to take and what actions you can take to ensure that no one gets hurt in the meantime.
The utility representative should be able to determine the buildings most at risk of gas infiltration. If electric manholes are present and gas has seeped into them, he can determine which buildings these manholes serve. This knowledge and his ability to track the movement of gas underground by taking subsurface readings may help you to prioritize which buildings are most at risk of gas infiltration. These buildings should be checked for the presence of gas first, allowing for quicker evacuation as needed. Once these buildings have been checked, continue checking to determine if other buildings in the area are affected. Remember, checking for gas is not a one-time task. The utility may have to vent gas trapped underground before the incident can be closed. You must continue to monitor the surrounding structures until the buildings are cleared of gas and migrating gas is no longer a danger.
Indoor Leak
If the leak is inside a building, trained firefighters equipped with combustible gas indicators typically can and should be able to monitor for the presence of gas to determine if it is safe for them to operate in it and if evacuation of the building is necessary. If they can identify the source of the leak, they should shut the flow of gas to the leak, if it is safe to do so, by closing the appliance valve; the meter valve; or, if present, the inside service valve (located where the gas enters the building). The gas should be shut as close as possible to the actual leak so as to inconvenience as few people as is practical and safe.
If firefighters cannot locate the source of the leak, it is possible that the gas is leaking in from outside and they should check the sewers and manholes in the street for the presence of gas. The utility representative is trained to pinpoint the leak’s location and to stop the flow of the gas to it. If the leak cannot be shut down inside the building, he can shut the curb valve, even street valves if necessary. Most fire departments operate neither curb nor street valves. They leave that to the experts.
Some departments rely on the utility responders to take gas readings in buildings for them. These departments may not have combustible gas indicators or be trained to use them. This is not a good policy. Firefighters must be willing and able to take readings and to react appropriately and immediately to the readings.
A fire department responded to a reported possible outdoor gas leak. Although personnel had a gas meter, they had not been trained in its use. The department always relied on the utility to do readings for it. A responding firefighter walked into a nearby building and noticed no gas odor. No gas odor was evident outdoors. The gas utility was called as a precaution, and when the utility representative arrived, he entered the building to take readings. Moments later, he came running out, and the building exploded, resulting in fatalities, injuries, building collapse, and fire.
There was no odor in the building because the odorant had been scrubbed out of the gas as it passed through the dirt on the way into the building. The firefighters waited 20 minutes for the utility representative’s arrival. How different might the outcome have been if firefighters had taken readings inside the building on arrival? Firefighter expertise in gas detection can save time and lives. The need for education is again evident. Photo 4 shows a natural gas mixing station where the odorant mercaptan is added (photo 5).
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Overhead Electrical Emergency or Fire
At an overhead electrical incident, the wait time for the utility’s response can be longer than that of a gas response. On arrival, the electric utility worker must go through the same type of size-up and reporting procedure that the gas worker does. He also should confer with you so that you can relate what has occurred and what you have done, and he can alert you to any additional concerns. The utility responder can test a wire to determine if it is live and check to see if anything it is in contact with is electrically charged. At a wire-down incident, he may be able to cut the wire to remove the danger or pull a switch on the pole from the ground, deenergizing the wire. He also may have to wait for a utility bucket truck to deenergize the wire.
Isolating and taping off the area around a down wire so that you can take up may seem a good policy, especially during storms, when there are multiple “wires down” incidents. It frees units from the utility incident and makes them available for other responses. Although that sounds good, it did not work out so well for the fire department that decided to tape off a down wire resting on a metal fence. The department returned later to find the house to which the fence was attached burning. The wire had electrified the fence, which heated up, causing the house fire.
In another incident, a fire department responded to down wires, taped off a down wire, and left the scene in control of the police department. A homeowner came out of his house, got into his car, and started to drive away when he noticed arcing behind the car. He exited his car and inadvertently stepped on the wire. He received a serious shock, was knocked down, and was severely injured. The fire department reportedly did not inform the police of the unguarded down wire.
Once you commit to a utility incident-involving gas, electricity, or steam-you own it until you are able to transfer it to the proper authority. That should only happen once the threat it poses is mitigated and your presence is no longer necessary.
Underground Electric Emergency or Fire
Firefighters operating at a manhole fire noticed ambulances coming and going from a building down the block. The emergency medical technicians were removing sick people from the building to the hospital. An investigation revealed that CO from the burning manhole was entering the building and making building occupants sick. One person died, and 25 were removed to the hospital. This incident alerted the fire department and the utility of the need to monitor CO in buildings in the vicinity of manhole fires. Another fire department responded to the report of an explosion in an electric manhole. Two firefighters walked over to the manhole to look inside and see what the problem was. When they looked into the manhole, an explosive arc blew a fire captain 10 feet into nearby bushes. Clearly, education could have prevented the firefighters from peering into the manhole and from being tossed into the bushes and injured.
At yet another manhole incident, firefighters were surprised when an explosion blew the access panels off of the streetlights. Firefighters should not have been surprised that the CO generated from the manhole fire could infiltrate the hollow metal streetlights and buildings, ignite explosively, or make people sick. Training could have alerted them to these dangers.
A smoking or burning manhole should be cordoned off, and firefighters should check and monitor nearby structures for CO and overheating electric panels and evacuate buildings if necessary. The utility representative, when he arrives, will perform his size-up and may ask that you put water into the hole to extinguish the fire, or he may first enter adjoining holes to cut the electric feeds leading to the burning manhole. The latter option is the safer one for firefighters. There have been several incidents that resulted in injuries to firefighters who sprayed water directly into burning electric manholes. It is better to apply water after the power has been removed from the hole, but it is possible to safely apply water into a live manhole if you are properly trained to do so. Again, the need for education is clear.
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Electric Substation Emergency or Fire
Substation fires are low-frequency, high-hazard incidents. Many firefighters will never respond to a substation incident. That is good because of the high hazard present and firefighters’ lack of familiarity with substations. Unfortunately, these fires do occur; when they do, the fire department will be asked to assist in mitigation, which might include entering the substation and putting water on high-voltage electrical equipment. This can be risky, but it can be done safely. Knowledge of the hazards present and the safety precautions necessary is a must before engaging in this type of operation.
Although you may arrive at a substation incident before a utility representative, you will need his advice before you enter the substation and before you can take action safely. You will also need to know what to do and what not to do until an expert arrives. Again, you need to educate yourself before the incident occurs.
High-Pressure Steam Emergency
Not everyone has high-pressure steam generation or use in their area. However, many different types of occupancies either use or generate high-pressure steam, and you may not know that one or more may be in your response area. Electric generating plants, hospitals, housing projects, manufacturing facilities, colleges, and others can use or produce high-pressure steam.
Like substation incidents, high-pressure steam incidents are high hazard and low frequency. They can occur in the generating plant, in the streets where pipes are routed underground, and in buildings supplied with high-pressure steam. When a steam main ruptures underground, it can affect the underground gas and electric infrastructure, creating an incident involving the steam, gas, and electric utilities. Because asbestos was used extensively as an insulator for high-pressure steam pipes, this can also be a hazmat incident. Handling such an incident requires prior education and consultation with the utility for a safe and effective response.
Education
First responders need to educate themselves to be able to respond safely to utility incidents. Are you getting this education? If not, contact your utility company and ask for it. The good news is that federal law mandates that your gas utility provide training to first responders. The bad news is that some gas utilities satisfy the federal mandate by sending your department an annual letter asking if it would like to be trained. If you do not respond affirmatively and so are not trained, the utility has nonetheless fulfilled its duty by just sending out the letter.
If you respond and want to be trained, the utility will train you. How well and how much it trains you depends to some extent on you. If you are not satisfied with the training, speak up. Let the utility know what type of training you need. Also, it may not always be as simple as requesting training. I know of one department that has repeatedly requested training but did not receive it. Phone calls, e-mails, and face-to-face contacts did not produce favorable results.
The gas utility is mandated to train first responders, but the electric utility has no such legal mandate. There is, however, a moral mandate for it to train you. It would be unconscionable for utilities to expect you to respond to hazardous incidents without proper training, so contact them and request it. If you do not get results, keep after them.
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The Training You Need
Training developed by the utility’s engineers, public relations personnel, and lawyers may not be very helpful. Firefighters are not engineers-technical jargon will not help them. The priorities of lawyers and public relations personnel might conflict with those of firefighters. Fortunately, utilities and firefighters do share some important priorities. They both want to keep their personnel and the public they serve safe.
A litany of how wonderful the utility company is or how environmentally friendly it is won’t do you much good at an emergency, nor will an overly technical description of the delivery system. The people you want creating the training course are the people who respond with you to these emergencies along with your department’s experienced responders. Together, they can put together relevant training that will be useful to you and will help to keep you safe.
Having the utilities’ responders assist in creating training programs has a twofold benefit. They already know how you respond to incidents and what you do when you get there. They will be able, with help from your training personnel, to put together a relevant training program. Also, since the utility responders are training them, firefighters get to know and trust them, resulting in a good working relationship at incidents. When things are getting dicey at a utility incident, a familiar, trusted face walking up to you offering help is reassuring.
As an example, the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) receives training from the local gas, electric, and steam utility, Consolidated Edison. Training is not just offered, but it is scheduled and updated. The utility trains each new firefighter in probationary firefighter school and offers rank-appropriate utility response training at each promotion for that member-from lieutenant through deputy chief-from the utility’s Emergency Response Group (ERG). The group’s primary responsibility is responding to major utility emergencies, setting up a utility command post near the fire command post, and serving as the incident commander’s (IC’s) point of contact with the utility. The assigned ERG responder addresses any questions or helps the IC. The IC already knows and trusts this person, since he has trained the IC with each promotion.
It is not just at promotion that our firefighters receive training. Individual fire companies can request from the ERG training and familiarization tours of critical utility facilities like substations, steam-generating plants, natural gas valve houses, liquefied natural gas storage facilities, and other hazardous locations. In photo 6, the Elmsford (NY) Fire Department conducts a training drill involving a power pole down on a car, awaiting the arrival of the utility. In addition, after major incidents, utility and fire responders attend an operational review to determine what went well, what went wrong, and how it could have been done better. The utility also participates in tabletop exercises and full-blown, real-time drills with firefighters. As a result, it is not uncommon for the IC and ERG responder to already be on a first-name basis and to have developed a strong trust of each other. Trust facilitates a safe operation when operating in a hazardous environment.
The Con Edison ERG not only conducts training for FDNY, it also works hand-in-hand developing written training material for our firefighters. Training bulletins and articles for our training magazine WNYF and for our online training are jointly produced by firefighters and the ERG. Together, we have produced training videos that are shown in firehouses and have developed new policies and tactics that make our work together in the field safer.
If your utility already offers you this level of training, you are doing well. If it does not, request it, again and again, if necessary. How can you safely respond to utility incidents without the appropriate level of training? You can’t! Since you must respond regardless, make every effort to obtain training and to foster a partnership in safety with your utility.
FRANK MONTAGNA retired after 43 years with the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), where he served as a battalion chief for 26 years. He spent his final seven years assigned to the FDNY Training Academy, where he was responsible for curriculum and officer development and simulation training. He wrote the department’s gas and electric procedure manuals and is one of the creators of fireengineering.com‘s simulations. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire science and has taught courses for John Jay College based on his book Responding to Routine Emergencies, has published numerous fire-related articles, and lectures on these topics.
Related Links
PREPLANNING UTILITY TARGET HAZARDS
Training Pays Off at Gas Explosion
ELECTRICAL SAFETY ON THE FIREGROUND
Natural Disasters: Big Storms, Big Emergencies
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