Report: Columbia Gas at fault for Upper Arlington house explosion
It’s probably safe to assume that this isn’t something that the folks at Columbia Gas wanted to hear. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio is laying the blame for March’s house explosion in U.A. squarely at the gas company’s feet.
PUCO says that they aren’t sure exactly when it happened, but sometime between 1985 and 1997, the gas company installed a new line at 3418 Sunningdale Way. When the new line was put in place, Columbia failed to disconnect the old service line. They also neglected to seal the valve to prevent anyone from accessing it. (The valve was located in the home’s driveway apron.) At some point in the intervening years, the valve somehow became noted as a water valve by the Columbus Water Department. In March, when plumbing repairs became necessary, an employee for the water department came to the home to turn the water off. While there, the employee had cause to replace the lid on the valve box in the driveway…the new black lid was labeled “water.” He then painted the other valve box blue to indicate that…of the two…it was the working water valve.
Later in the month, when home owners Hidefumi and Mariko Ishida were preparing for an extended trip to Japan, another employee from the water company returned to the home to shut off the H2O. The rep began turning the valve in the box marked “water” (the old gas valve) but then saw the blue valve box. The service person turned the valve in the box marked “water” off to go to the valve that was painted blue, but did not turn the original valve off all of the way. The old still-connected line sent gas into the home and the next day…<BOOM!>
All of this information is according to the report from PUCO. As part of its defense, Columbia Gas says that it never received an order to disconnect the old gas line.
The Ishida’s home was destroyed. 25 other homes were also damaged, eight were left uninhabitable. In all, there was $9 million in damage. (No one was hurt.)
Columbia Gas of Ohio did not properly discontinue service at 3418 Sunningdale Way in Upper Arlington, Ohio. The curb valve was closed to prevent the flow of gas to the customer but no means to prevent the opening of the valve by persons other than those authorized by COH was provided. The service line remained connected to the gas main, and the open pipe end was not sealed.
– PUCO report conclusion
PUCO could fine Columbia Gas as much as $1 million. (jj)
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