The lingering smell of gas midday served as an immediate indication of an earlier gas line hit, causing road and business closures Tuesday morning (March 11).
Gas continued to flow well after an excavator driver hit a one-inch gas line on Vancouver Street near View.
With no nearby shutoff, FortisBC had to dig to a nearby eight-inch main to isolate the one-inch pipe, Victoria Fire Captain Mark Rawlins told the Victoria News. Once isolated, crews will fix the one-inch line and install a shutoff valve.
Fortis BC was called after the digger damaged the gas line around 9:30 a.m. and as of 1 p.m. gas continued to flow freely.
"The safest thing to do is allow it to vent into the atmosphere," said Nicholas Insley, senior manager, corporate communications at Fortis BC. Victoria Fire Department is on the scene as well.
Victoria Fire monitored nearby buildings for gas buildup, and Vancouver Street was closed for the safety of Fortis employees.
He noted the length of impacts on both gas customers and those using the roads and businesses in the area. The damage occurred around 9:30 a.m., crews arrived shortly after 10 a.m. and repairs are expected to be complete later in the afternoon.
In all 13 customers were without gas until the line was repaired by 7:30 p.m. when Vancouver Street reopened to traffic.
"Our first job is to make the situation safe and determine the best way to stop the flow of gas due to the damage caused by an external party. As required to start repairs, we’ll need to shut down the affected section of our system," Fortis said in update that night. "Once we complete repairs and reactivate the impacted portion of the system, our crews restore service by visiting each affected home or business to turn gas back on at the meter and relight all affected appliances."
Crews had restored service to customers by 8:30 p.m.
The damaged line serves as a reminder for people to call BC1Call before digging, Insley said. That service maps out underground utilities in the province. Fortis says 90 per cent of damage is preventable by contacting BC 1 Call before digging.
"If people do smell rotten eggs or hear the sound of escaping gas, it could be a gas leak so it’s important they stop what they’re doing, go outside and call 911 or FortisBC’s emergency line (1-800-663-9911)," Insley said.
