STARK COUNTY, OH (WOIO) -
An explosion during repairs at a gas transmission pipeline site killed a worker Monday.
It happened in the 8400 block of Beth Avenue SW. in Bethlehem Township near Navarre, Ohio.
60-year-old Wesley J. Johnson, of Wooster, and an employee of TransCanada was found dead at the scene. He had reportedly been working on equipment in the area when the accident occurred.
Deputies assisted several responding fire departments to evacuate people from the surrounding area until the gas could be turned off.
Given the volatility of gas, it is odd this doesn't happen more often, but remember gas has to be at just the right pressure, and have just the right ignition source to catch fire of explode.
Obviously those conditions were met today.
It is difficult to see exactly where the explosion happened, but an entry road was flanked by trucks from the Columbia Transmission company.
That company is now owned by Trans Canada, a company working on the controversial gas transmission line in this part of the state.
No word on exactly what happened, but a long section of pipeline and access road leads to the spot.
Jeff France doesn't live too far away and describes his experience and said, "I heard a large whistle noise, we don't live too far from Akron Canton Airport and it sounded like a low flying plane. It kept getting louder and louder and louder then there was a gigantic explosion. I made it down the road here to the sportsman's club and I saw the black smoke in the air and, you could smell gas."
A release late Monday afternoon calls the area the Columbia Gas Transmission system meter station.
It is unremarkable in such a remote area, until something goes wrong.
The cause of the gas leak remains under investigation.
Metering stations measure natural gas flow within a pipeline system. They reduce gas pressure and also meter the gas for transfer to and from other pipelines and to transfer custody to anchor shippers. Anchor shippers are energy retailers that have signed up for capacity along the pipeline system.
A meter/regulator station typically includes meter and regulator equipment,
a filter separator, odorant equipment, and a control building housed within a fenced perimeter.
According to info submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission:
"Meter stations are built for the purposes of measuring continuous natural gas flow entering and exiting a pipeline system. Meter stations also possess regulating components which regulate the pressure and delivery volumes of natural gas into and out of the pipeline system. The construction and modification of custody transfer meters is to meet the specific needs of Project Shippers contracting for firm transportation service on the Project. Metering facilities will include the installation of tap, metering, regulation, heating, flow control, and overpressure protection, as necessary unless specified otherwise."
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Columbia Gas Transmission pipeline worker killed Monday morning on Beth Avenue SW in Bethlehem Twp.
BETHLEHEM TWP., OHIO: A pipeline worker died following an incident Monday morning that caused a massive natural gas leak and prompted authorities to evacuate a neighborhood.
Wesley J. Johnson, 60, of Wooster, died at the scene, according to the Stark County Sheriff’s Office. Officials believe a cap on the end of a pipeline gave way, killing him.
A second worker was evaluated at the scene but refused medical treatment, Erie Valley Fire & Rescue Assistant Chief Tom Bragg said. The worker was able to guide firefighters to turn off the valves to the pipeline.
Reports of an explosion in the 8400 block of Beth Avenue SW came in around 10:15 a.m., and the odor of natural gas soon drifted over Navarre more than 4 miles away.
The incident happened during maintenance work at a metering station on part of the Columbia Gas Transmission System, but the cause is unknown, according to the owner, TransCanada.
“Tragically, we can confirm that one employee was fatally injured,” TransCanada spokesman David Dodson wrote in an email. “We are working with local responders to ensure family members are properly notified. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and colleagues.”
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio will investigate the incident and forward findings to the U.S. Department of Transportation, which will decide what action to take.
John Williams, director of PUCO’s service monitoring and enforcement department, said he didn’t know how long the investigation would require.
“It’s always hard to tell,” Williams said. “All of these are very unique from one to another.”
Neighbors evacuated
A loud hissing noise could be heard from the incident scene, which emergency personnel blocked off. Thick black smoke was visible for miles. The smoke was caused by oil, used to lubricate the pipeline, mixing with the natural gas, and not a fire, Bragg said.
While crews worked to turn off the gas, emergency personnel evacuated neighbors in about a three-quarter-mile radius around the scene to the Navarre Civic Center on Canal Street W, Stark County Sheriff’s Maj. C.J. Stantz said. The majority of those evacuated were able to return to their homes about 45 minutes later.
Neighbor Betty Rice heard an explosion through the open windows of her home in the 5100 block of Hudson Drive SW. Her 24 acres of land abut a mining area next to the metering station. She was not ordered to evacuate.
“I thought they were blasting,” she said. “It was just a boom. Then we heard what sounded like equipment running.”
Rice later realized it was the natural gas escaping from the pipe.
Another neighbor, Dave Stoffer, heard what sounded like a jet.
“I looked outside to see if there was a jet real close to the roof tops,” said Stoffer, a Seeman Street SW resident. “I thought it was going to land, but it just kept going. I thought maybe a farmer was running machinery.”
Columbia Gas Transmission is a 12,000-mile interstate network that transports natural gas through Ohio and nine other states.
Calgary-based TransCanada acquired the Columbia system last year in a $13 billion deal. TransCanada probably is best known as the company behind the controversial Keystone XL crude oil pipeline.