NTSB Safety Recommendation P-07-002

NTSB safety recommendation P-07-002.

TO THE NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS: Establish a requirement that all career and volunteer firefighters receive recurrent training on natural gas safety and incident response.

Priority: CLASS II

Overall Status: Closed - Acceptable Alternate Action

Issued Date: 2007-06-07

Adopted Date: 2007-05-01

Overall Date Closed: 2010-06-22

Synopsis: On December 13, 2005, at 9:26 a.m., an apartment building exploded in Bergenfield, New Jersey, after natural gas migrated into the building from a damaged pipeline. Safety Board investigators found a break in a 1 1/4-inch steel natural gas distribution service line that was operating at 11 1/2 pounds per square inch, gauge. The break occurred at an underground threaded tee connection downstream from where excavators were removing an oil tank that was buried under the asphalt parking lot adjacent to the building. The break occurred, under the parking lot, about 7 feet 4 inches from the building’s wall. Three residents of the apartment building were killed. Four residents and a tank removal worker were injured and transported to hospitals.

Probable Cause: The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the December 13, 2005, natural gas explosion and fire in Bergenfield, New Jersey, was the failure of the American Tank Service Company to adequately protect the natural gas service line from shifting soil during excavation, which resulted in damage to the service line and the release and migration of natural gas into the apartment building. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the Public Service Electric and Gas Company to conduct effective oversight of the excavation activities adjacent to the gas service line and to be prepared to promptly shut off the flow of natural gas after the service line was damaged. Contributing to the casualties in the accident was the failure of the Bergenfield Fire Department to evacuate the apartment building despite the strong evidence of a natural gas leak and the potential for gas to migrate into the building.

Keywords: Firefighting, Public Education (Pipeline), Training and Education

Ntsbnumber: DCA06MP001

Report Number: PAB-07-01

Addressee Name: State of New Jersey, Department of Community Affairs

Addressee Status: Closed - Acceptable Alternate Action

Addressee Date Closed: 2010-06-22

Addressee Acronym: NJ DCA

Addressee Organization Type: S-State Government

Communication Date: 2010-01-29

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: Letter Mail Controlled 2/23/2010 3:13:31 PM MC# 2100062 - From Lawrence Petrillo, State Fire Marshall, Director, Division of Fire Safety: I am writing in response to a letter from Michael Brown requesting information on how the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs is implementing NTSB's recommendation P-07-02 as a result of an incident that occurred in Bergenfield on December 13,2005. As explained in my July, 10, 2007 letter to then Chairman Rosenker, the Department of Community Affairs does not have the legislative authority to mandate the training recommended without additional statutory authority. As explained in that letter we did distribute a training CD to thousands of firefighters and fire departments that addressed this recommendation, a copy of which is enclosed. In addition, as a result of past investigations, including the Bergenfield pipeline fire and explosion, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has taken action to coordinate training of fire safety personnel with the State's natural gas pipeline operators in an effort to mitigate future damage and injury resulting from a pipeline related fire or explosion. We trust that this response demonstrates that we have implemented the NTSB recommendation to the best of our ability. We do however wish to once again strongly recommend that the NTSB address these types of recommendation through Federal legislation to ensure that all emergency responders throughout the country receive the same levels of training. Lawrence Petrillo, State Fire Marshal, Director, Division of Fire Safety

Addressee Acronym: NJ DCA

Addressee Organization Type: S-State Government

Communication Date: 2007-07-10

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: Letter Mail Controlled 7/19/2007 10:13:17 AM MC# 2070355 - From Lawrence Petrillo, State Fire Marshall, Director, Division of Fire Safety: As indicated in your letter, the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety’s Recruit Firefighter Training Program contains material and a CD explaining how to respond to and mitigate incidents involving natural gas. Recently the division re-examined the effectiveness of providing each recruit with a CD and determined that it was best to allow the fire training academies to utilize the CD and to provide one to each fire department. This would allow fire departments to deliver in-house training sessions to all of their firefighters on these hazards. While we have stopped providing the CD’s to the recruits we have not yet provided them to all fire departments. We will strive to work with the gas utilities throughout the state to share the costs of purchasing and distributing the needed 800 CD’s. The NTSB recommended that the Department of Community Affairs through the Division of Fire Safety "establish a requirement that all career and volunteer firefighters receive recurrent training on natural gas safety and incident response. (P-07-02)." The Division of Fire Safety would need statutory authority to mandate such training. Therefore, we will seek sponsors to introduce such legislation. As you know this process can take some time. Therefore, we will be providing copies of the recommendation to our Training and Education Advisory Board and requesting that they assist us in developing a lesson plan on natural gas safety that can be distributed along with the CD to all fire departments with the strong recommendation that they provide the recurring training identified in the report. Additionally, division staff will work with our Health and Safety Advisory Council to develop recommended Standard Operating Guidelines for these types if incidents. In closing we would recommend that the NTSB forward your recommendation to Congress and request that this matter be addressed on a National level as it is highly probable that the same deficiencies identified in your report are common throughout the country.

Addressee Acronym: NJ DCA

Addressee Organization Type: S-State Government

Communication Date: 2007-11-21

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: The Safety Board notes that at one time, the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety (NJDFS) recruit firefighter-training program included a CD that explained how to respond to and mitigate incidents involving natural gas. However, after a recent review, it was determined that it was better to allow the fire training academies to utilize the CD and to also provide copies to each fire department for in-house training sessions for their firefighters. While the NJDFS has stopped providing copies of the CD directly to the recruits, it has yet to provide CDs to the firehouses and is in the process of arranging for a cost-sharing plan with the gas utility companies to pay for the CDs. In the interim, the NJDFS will provide copies of Safety Recommendation P-07-2 to its Training and Education Advisory Board, requesting that it assist in developing a lesson plan on natural gas safety that can be distributed along with the training CD to all fire departments and including the strong recommendation that local departments provide the recurring training identified in the report. In addition, NJDFS division staff will work with the Health and Safety Advisory Council to develop recommended standard operating guidelines for natural gas incidents. The Safety Board also notes that the NJDFS will pursue the authority, through State legislation, to require recurrent training for all career and volunteer firefighters on natural gas safety and incident response. This action, in conjunction with those described above, constitutes an acceptable plan to address the recommendation; accordingly, Safety Recommendation P-07-2 is classified OPEN -- ACCEPTABLE RESPONSE, pending completion of these efforts. The Safety Board would appreciate receiving periodic updates on their status. Regarding the NJDFS’s comment that Safety Recommendation P-07-2 should be sent to Congress, the Safety Board sent a recommendation for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to provide a summary of the lessons learned from the Bergenfield accident to recipients of emergency planning and response grants (P-07-1) and a recommendation to the International Association of Fire Chiefs to notify its members of the circumstances surrounding the Bergenfield accident and urge its members to establish and implement procedures for emergency responders to rapidly assess situations involving natural gas leaks and determine whether prompt evacuations are warranted (P-07-6).

Addressee Acronym: NJ DCA

Addressee Organization Type: S-State Government

Communication Date: 2010-06-22

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: Although the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety (NJFS) lacks legislative authority to mandate the recommended training, the NTSB is pleased that it has distributed a training CD to thousands of firefighters and fire departments to address this issue and that the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities is coordinating the training of fire safety personnel with the state’s natural gas pipeline operators. In addition, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) worked with the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM) to develop an advisory bulletin for the fire service training (which addresses recurrent training for both career and volunteer firefighters), and the bulletin includes the lessons learned from the Bergenfield accident. In addition, NASFM developed a gas line break scenario demonstrating the appropriate response to a natural gas leak, PHMSA posted a link to the advisory bulletin and scenario on the Emergency Officials page of PHMSA’s Pipeline Safety Stakeholder Communications website, and NASFM posted the advisory bulletin and scenario on two websites: that of the Partnership for Excellence in Pipeline Safety and that of the Pipeline Emergencies Program. On September 5, 2007, PHMSA e mailed the advisory bulletin and scenario to the recipients of the agency’s emergency planning and response grants in 34 states including New Jersey. In the context of these actions, the issuance by the NJFS of the training CD constitutes an alternative solution to the training issues identified in the Bergenfield accident. Accordingly, Safety Recommendation P-07-2 is classified CLOSED -- ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATE ACTION.