EQUIPMENT FAILURE MAY HAVE SPARKED FIRE AT GAS WELL DRILLING SITE IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
February 4,
2015
NORTH
STRABANE TOWNSHIP (KDKA) — An equipment malfunction may have sparked a large
fire at a gas drilling location in Washington County on Wednesday evening.
The
fire broke out after 5 p.m. at the Jeffries drilling site in the 200-block of
Ross Road in North Strabane Township.
Officials
with Range Resources say it was not a well that caught fire; instead, it was an
equipment failure on a piece of machinery that discharged some engine oil.
That’s what caught fire along with some plastic liners used for environmental
prevention that were on the ground at the location.
“That piece
of equipment ruptured. There was a failure and it discharged some of that
lubricant. That ignited and caught fire at the location,” said Matt Pitzarella,
of Range Resources. “The well itself was not on fire and not a cause of
concern.
“The
hydraulic fluid, once it ignited, it fell down on… we have spill prevention.
There’s plastic liner at bottoms of all of these locations to protect against
spills,” Pitzarella added.
Heavy
flames were seen at the scene and large plumes of black smoke rose over the
area.
Joe Waldrop
lives on a hill overlooking the site. He called 911 once he realized what had
happened.
“As I
continued to listen and looked out the back window, we saw all this black
smoke, we heard numerous booms after that, and we went back and the whole well
was like engulfed in flames,” said Waldrop.
Range
Resources says they are working with regulators and first responders to
investigate the fire.
In their
statement, Range Resources went on to say, “These investigations can take weeks or months in
some instances to fully recognize what exactly occurred. Importantly, we have
trained crews to manage these situations and have prepared for these
unfortunate incidents with area first responders over the years.”
There were
no reports of any injuries.
Three homes
are within a half mile radius of the site, but no one had to be evacuated.
“They just
said everyone roll up your windows or go inside; we don’t want you guys to
breathe it in,” saisd Rachel Rettinger, a neighbor.
Crews
managed to put the fire out by 6:15 p.m.
Range
Resources officials say they used specialty foam, used to extinguish oil and
grease fires, to put out the blaze.
Officials
also say they’ll be reaching out to neighbors to make sure everyone is okay and
any questions are answered.