Gas Providers Not Ready For Prime Time:

icesailor

Once again, Nature has shown that The Big Job Creators, the gas suppliers aren't ready for prime time. And total opposition to being regulated in any way, shows again why we need Government to rein in the largest among us, to protect the rest of us.

There are many flood regs in place but one that is shown by this disaster is the need for high flow shut off valves like they put on 20# cylinder LP gas grill tanks. They also need "breakaway" house connections if the building is moved off a foundation in a flood. I don't know if these are required in other areas of the country but I'm sure that the gas serving providers have protested loudly against this added expense.

Those 80+ houses in Brooklyn were burned as a direct result of one house having a gas service break, then a domino effect as they all continued to burn. What about the fire personnel that had to try to fight and save that? Don't they count too?

It is obvious to me that there are no easily central access spots to shut off the gas in certain areas. And the gas companies are loath to shut off areas because it means that they must shut off each individual house service before they turn the gas back on. Anyone that doesn't have a problem in an affected area, looses gas service until the services can be shut off and the gas providers can turn on each, individual service to make sure that the building isn't filling up with gas from failed standing pilots or open gas valves to appliances. Someone has to be there to let them in or they are responsible and the insurance company will not be responsible.

This morning, while waiting for my plane, I saw a high pressure main, bubbling through the water with a guy standing there trying to do something. What, blow himself up? If there is nothing more to come of this disaster, it should be to bring the gas service providers to task for their poor planning and their resistance to adding safety to their systems.

FEMA has established flood zones for all the flood prone areas in the country. You pay insurance rates because of it. Everyone knows where the flood prone areas. Instead of some AHJ's running around making up their own rules about concentric venting listed and approved gas appliances, they should be dealing with this kind of stuff. LP tanks should be chained and strapped to the building in flood prone areas. And that is from ocean flooding, river flooding or just plain rainfall.

This is the most heartbreaking thing I have seen since Katrina. Katrina must have been mostly electric because we never heard about these gas problems with their flooding. There is just no excuse for all those houses to have burned. It was Nat. Gas and Propane that fueled it. Something needs to be done about it.

Disgusting. All those poor people.