NTSB Safety Recommendation Letter P-78-015 through P-78-016

Page 1Official PDFNATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. I S S U E D : ----------_-----..---_________I__________- Forwarded to: A p r i l 25, 1978 Eugene A. Tracy P r e s i d e n t Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company 122 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, I l l i n o i s 60603 SAFETY RECOMMENDAT I 0N ( S ) P-78-15 and 1 6 A t 1:35 p.m. on October 14, 1977, an explosion and f i r e destroyed a two-family house at 4530 W. Cortez S t r e e t i n Chicago, I l l i n o i s . One person w a s k i l l e d , t h r e e persons were injured, and two a d j a c e n t houses were damaged. Natural gas had entered t h e building through a broken service head adapter which w a s used t o connect i n s e r t e d p l a s t i c s e r v i c e l i n e s t o t h e riser and meter set on t h e i n s i d e of t h e building. The adapter w a s broken when a c o n t r a c t o r , employed by t h e c i t y t o remove s t r e e t curbs, pulled t h e 1 1/4-inch, plastic-encased s e r v i c e l i n e operating a t 1 / 4 p s i g . The Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company (Peoples) received a c a l l a t 12:38 p.m. of an odor of gas a t 4930 W. Cortez Street and c l a s s i f i e d it as a “bad leak” i n s i d e a building. However, Peoples d i d not d i s p a t c h a serviceman t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h e r e p o r t u n t i l 1:23 p - m . , 45 minutes a f t e r t h e f i r s t r e p o r t . A t 1:26 p.m., Peoples w a s informed t h a t t h e r e was no gas s e r v i c e a t a house a t 4924 W. Cortez Street. This r e p o r t was dispatched t o t h e same serviceman a t 1:34 p.m., which was approximately h i s time of arrival on W. Cortez S t r e e t . Before t h e serviceman could g e t o u t of h i s truck, t h e house a t 4530 W . Cortez S t r e e t exploded. A t t h e t i m e Peoples i n i t i a l l y received t h e c a l l i n d i c a t i n g an odor of gas, e i g h t of t h e n i n e servicemen assigned t o service t h e zone i n which t h e accident occurred were a t lunch and t h e o t h e r serviceman w a s checking o u t another reported leak. The r e p o r t of t h e l e a k a t 4530 W. Cortez Street was held u n t i l one of t h e servicemen returned from lunch. 2330#

Page 2- 2 - Therefore, the National Transportation Safety Board recommends that - the Peoples Gas Light and Coke.-Compa_ny: Instruct its employees to respond immediately to reports of gas leaks that require prompt action to protect life and property and monitor its employees' response time to assure that these leak reports receive immediate attention. (Class I, Urgent Action)(P-78-15) Instruct its supervisors in each zone to schedule their servicemen so that emergencies can be handled promptly at all times. (Class I, Urgent Action) (P- 78-16) KING, Chairman, McADAMS, BOGUE, and DRIVER, Members, concurred in the above recomendations. By: k5 J es B.#