Pressure increase reported in Massachusetts gas pipeline, NTSB says
(CNN)The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate a pressure increase detected in a natural gas pipeline north of Boston as it tries to figure out what caused a series of fires and gas explosions in three Massachusetts towns, NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said Saturday at a news conference.
A pipeline controller working at a console in Columbus, Ohio, noticed the pressure increase in a pipeline in Lawrence, Massachusetts, one of the three towns where the fires occurred, Sumwalt told CNN's Alison Kosik. He didn't say when the pressure increase was noticed.
"Certainly we will interview that pipeline controller," he said.
Also Saturday, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said most people who had to evacuate their homes in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover should be able to go......Continue Reading
...home Sunday morning.
Thousands had to evacuate after more than 60 suspected gas fires broke out Thursday evening in homes in the towns north of Boston. One person was killed, several were hurt and dozens of people were evacuated. About 18,000 customers lost power at one point, National Grid reported.
The NTSB, which is investigating because transportation -- in this case, of natural gas -- was involved, arrived in Massachusetts on Friday morning to investigate the fires and gas explosions and will also be looking into the system procedures, operations, and safety culture of Columbia Gas and its parent company NiSource, as well as constructing a timeline of events surrounding the fires.
"We are very interested to understand the operations of Columbia Gas. We will be looking at their record keeping, their procedural compliance, their procedures, their training, the oversight of their contractors," Sumwalt said Saturday.
Sumwalt also noted there are 14 gas pressure regulators in the area and that investigators plan to test all of them and make sure they are all operating properly. He expects that NTSB
investigators will remain on scene for seven to 10 days while they collect perishable evidence and conduct interviews.
"Our mission is to find out what happened so we can keep it from happening again," Sumwalt said.
Sumwalt said they will work to determine a cause for the incident and issue a preliminary report, but that a full detailed report on the exact cause may not be complete for up to two years.
There is no evidence at this time that anything nefarious contributed to the fires, Sumwalt said.
"Over 5,000 customers have had their power restored. We expect to have the vast majority of the remaining homes done and cleared for gas tonight," Baker said. "People, unless something unanticipated happens, should be able to return to their homes at 7 a.m. tomorrow morning."
