A major portion of a Tennessee Gas Pipeline exploded in rural southern Ohio this morning. Residents in the Glouster area reported flames shooting several hundred feet in the air as the wind spread the blaze creating multiple small fires. A home and barns near the explosion were destroyed minutes after the fire was spotted.
Here are some facts about the natural gas pipeline explosion near the Athens and Morgan county lines:
* The explosion occurred just before 9 a.m. along Taylor Road. According to emergency reports by the Morgan County Sheriff's Office, the home and adjacent structures were not occupied. A bystander was transported to an area hospital for respiratory problems.
* The Ohio Division of State Fire Marshal personnel were dispatched to the scene immediately after the explosion was reported. The company activated its emergency response plan and sent work crews to the area to shut off the flow of gas and to help local first responders.
* Ohio State troopers sectioned off a large area around the pipeline explosion while work crews closed down the flow of gas through the pipe. According to eye witness reports, it took more than an hour for the flames to subside to tree. Emergency calls through the local 911 system indicate the explosion was heard and felt at least 12 miles from the immediate scene.
* The Tennessee Gas Pipeline headquarters is in Houston. The lines carries natural gas from Texas to New England. A statement issued by a company spokesman noted they are aware of the explosion and currently checking to see if the blast was from one of their lines. Multiple gas company lines run through the southeastern Ohio region. According to the news release, the company is acting as if the line is theirs and responding accordingly.
* The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio sent an investigator to the explosion site and will monitor the accident investigation and submit a findings report to the U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration department.
* In a previous agreement between Tennessee Gas Pipeline and the federal agency the company agreed to mix sections of the Ohio pipeline deemed unsafe and improve overall monitoring and inspection process. The pipeline covers 14,000 miles. In February a similar explosion occurred in the eastern Ohio area of Columbiana County. Another pipeline failure occurred in the same vicinity in March.
* The Tennessee Gas Pipeline parent company, El Paso Corp., paid a $15.5 million fine issued by federal regulators in 2007 after a New Mexico explosion killed 12 campers. The group was lodging outdoors near a 50-year-old pipeline. As part of the settlement reached between the federal government and the company included a commitment to spend $86 million to improve and modify existing pipelines.
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