Huge blast in San Bruno; neighborhood on fire

[Brian4Liberty]

Probably a major gas line...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/09/BADP1FBJRS.DTL

[Vessol]

I hope that everyone is alright.

I'm betting 100$ that within an hour of reporting this the news will either say "There is currently no sign that this was a terrorist attack" or will say "Police sources have confirmed to us that this was an accident and not a terrorist attack."

Remember when there was that steam in NYC years ago and the first thing the news had to say "No this is not a terrorist attack."

[Brian4Liberty]

Video:

http://cbs5.com/video/?id=68773@kpix.dayport.com

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local-beat/Huge-Explosion-Rocks-San-Bruno-102589904.html

[Brian4Liberty]

Confirmed as a high pressure gas line. They finally got it turned off, neighborhood still burning.

[Anti Federalist]

That is one hell of a fire.

[Reason]

That would be a really shitty thing to walk outside to...

[Brian4Liberty]

That is one hell of a fire.

Yeah, when the gas was flowing it was an inferno.

Still burning as of now, looks like 8 blocks of houses burning. Major story here in the SF Bay Area, pre-empting all channels. Major freeway (280) closed.

[Anti Federalist]

Yeah, when the gas was flowing it was an inferno.

Still burning as of now, looks like 8 blocks of houses burning. Major story here in the SF Bay Area, pre-empting all channels. Major freeway (280) closed.

You could see the radiant heat from the gas fire bringing houses all around it to the ignition point.

Any word on injuries/deaths?

[Brian4Liberty]

You could see the radiant heat from the gas fire bringing houses all around it to the ignition point.

Any word on injuries/deaths?

Local hospitals are overflowing with burn injuries (how big are burn units?), guess they are taking people to specialty burn units further away. If anyone was trapped in there, they were cremated. Luckily people had a little time to get out before they (their houses) burst into flames from the heat.

Update: less than 20 people being treated for burns right now. Only a few life-threatening. They won't have a good count until tomorrow.

[Kregisen]

What a sad story....I can't imagine losing a family member in a fire like that, or even just losing your house and your entire life's earnings destroyed.

[angelatc]

Here comes the California bailout. Obviously their infrastructure is collapsing, and heaven knows they don't have any money of their own.

[Anti Federalist]

Local hospitals are overflowing with burn injuries (how big are burn units?), guess they are taking people to specialty burn units further away. If anyone was trapped in there, they were cremated. Luckily people had a little time to get out before they (their houses) burst into flames from the heat.

Update: less than 20 people being treated for burns right now. Only a few life-threatening. They won't have a good count until tomorrow.

Always amazing in these types of fires that injuries are not much much higher.

[BlackTerrel]

I have some friends out there.... I think everyone is ok though.

I've seen some pictures posted on Facebook from the highway... looks big.

[unconsious767]

It's obvious a high pressure gas line in a populated area is a great potential hazard. Is it really so hard to design a setup where a regulator detects that there's way too much gas going through it, and automatically shuts down?

[Brian4Liberty]

Latest update: 53 homes totaled, 120 more damaged, fire still burning 50% contained. 1 confirmed fatality so far. Explosion also damaged water mains, so harder to fight the fires.

[Golding]

Pretty close to home. As much disdain as I have for the police, I have the opposite for the firefighters.

[Promontorium]

I used to live about 2 miles from where that explosion occured.

[cindy25]

does Pacific Gas and Electric have enough to pay for this?

damage claims could be into the billions

[rancher89]

My first thought when it hit the news was "meteorite!" :)

I am also surprised that there weren't more injured A-F

Quoting Angelatc: "Here comes the California bailout. Obviously their infrastructure is collapsing, and heaven knows they don't have any money of their own."

Maybe "the big one" (earthquake) won't be what send CA into the sea, it might just be the crumbling infrastructure...;)

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

Here comes the California bailout. Obviously their infrastructure is collapsing, and heaven knows they don't have any money of their own.

What is funny about this is this will take money from other parts of the country (people don't realize), and it isn't much better outside California either, which means they will point to other parts of the country where they just stole the money to give to California and say, look, their infrastructure is bad bailout! In the end, we all end up with horrible centrally planned unprofitable entities, infrastructure, and a poorer populace, with higher inflation. You are watching the de-capitalization of America before your eyes.

[cindy25]

this is a pipeline of a private utility, as are most gas pipelines nationwide

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

this is a pipeline of a private utility, as are most gas pipelines nationwide

See this:

Consider the conservative virtue-term “privatization,” which has two distinct, indeed opposed, meanings. On the one hand, it can mean returning some service or industry from the monopolistic government sector to the competitive private sector—getting government out of it; this would be the libertarian meaning. On the other hand, it can mean “contracting out,” i.e., granting to some private firm a monopoly privilege in the provision some service previously provided by government directly. There is nothing free-market about privatization in this latter sense, since the monopoly power is merely transferred from one set of hands to another; this is corporatism, or pro-business intervention, not laissez-faire. (To be sure, there may be competition in the bidding for such monopoly contracts, but competition to establish a legal monopoly is no more genuine market competition than voting—one last time—to establish a dictator is genuine democracy.)


I don't know how many times I have to repeat this, but there is nothing Marketized/Laissez-Faire about utilities. Utilities are the epitome of fascistic enterprise given legal privilege (Monopoly) over given territorial areas, by the territorial master (State/Government). On top of that they heavily regulate what they can do (Which they don't mind, they have a monopoly after all), which creates even more problems. It's bad and just worse. If you are trying to use some innuendo, it surely ain't working.

[Golding]

My first thought when it hit the news was "meteorite!" :)My first thought was someone told a really big lie, and his pants spontaneously combusted.

[Brian4Liberty]

this is a pipeline of a private utility, as are most gas pipelines nationwide

Obama may take it over... :(

[Brian4Liberty]

They interviewed a few people last night who escaped, including a retired fire chief. It was so hot things were spontaneously combusting. One guy it said it felt like a blowtorch was aimed at his back as he ran. One guy who drove out had his rear bumper and and plastic parts of his car melting as he drove.


SAN BRUNO, Calif. – Fire crews sprayed water on smoldering homes Friday morning after a massive explosion apparently triggered by a broken gas line sent flames roaring through a neighborhood near San Francisco, killing six people and injuring dozens, officials said.

Fire crews are still working to douse the blaze and authorities have said there could be other casualties.
...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_large_explosion

[Brian4Liberty]

All of the individual homes still had their gas on, so it was quite a sight in the night with huge blow torches at each foundation...

http://cbs5.com/video/?id=68781@kpix.dayport.com

More coverage:

http://cbs5.com/

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local-beat/Huge-Explosion-Rocks-San-Bruno-102589904.html

[Promontorium]

Yeah cry cry like America will ever give California money. America is on California welfare. We pay your bills. And our infrastructure isn't such shit that refugees will have to leave the state to find a place to stay. San Francisco could fall into the ocean and the residents would just move over to Daly City, Oakland, or Vallejo.

Absolutely baseless "bailout" bitching. Thanks for the hate.

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

Yeah cry cry like America will ever give California money. America is on California welfare. We pay your bills. And our infrastructure isn't such shit that refugees will have to leave the state to find a place to stay. San Francisco could fall into the ocean and the residents would just move over to Daly City, Oakland, or Vallejo.

Absolutely baseless "bailout" bitching. Thanks for the hate.

Considering that California all ready was bailed out partially once...(along with pretty much every other State granted..), it isn't far-fetched to believe it will be again seeing as how California is easily in the worst shape of any State in the country...even worse than Michigan!

[BlackTerrel]

Well one nice thing from all this....

I went to school around here and a group of us were coordinating on Facebook to go over there, volunteer, pick up some groceries and drop it off at the shelter etc.... Just got the word a couple hours ago that volunteers FAR outnumber the victims, they have more groceries and supplies that they could ever use and they are sending people back.

Nice to see...

[Brian4Liberty]

Well one nice thing from all this....

I went to school around here and a group of us were coordinating on Facebook to go over there, volunteer, pick up some groceries and drop it off at the shelter etc.... Just got the word a couple hours ago that volunteers FAR outnumber the victims, they have more groceries and supplies that they could ever use and they are sending people back.

Nice to see...

Shhhhh! You might ruin the billions in Federal disaster relief that we were going to demand! ;)

[free1]

You should ask this of your local gas company too.

Questions:

Did they tell these people there was a high pressure 24" gas line in their back yard when they purchased their home?

Did they tell them it was "perfectly safe"?

One guy said he smelt a gas smell from the sewer for about 3 weeks, PG&E came out and then left. Why couldn't the PG&E guys find the leak, and why did they just give up?

Does PG&E regularly check these lines with robotic equipment from the INSIDE?

Are there ANY devices installed so when there's a sudden drop in pressure it shuts the flow off?

WHY DIDN'T THE GAS SHUT OFF AUTOMATICALLY? It's 2010 DAMN IT! We have microprocessors and all sorts of new types of sensors.

Is PG&E required to inform the close by people of results of their inspections on a yearly basis? WHY NOT? It would keep them on their toes.

Comment: I'm tired of these so called professional, college educated engineers who design these things and think they are safe. Airplanes that crash, trains that crash, things killing people, all sorts of engineering gone wrong, when it's pretty obvious and simple why they failed AFTER THE FACT. If you are going to engineer something that might kill people, DO IT RIGHT! Spend the time to think it all through and have someone else look it over, and then LISTEN TO THE ADVICE you stupid arrogant MURDERING bastards! (yea, I've worked with some of these a-holes)

[Bruno]

Well one nice thing from all this....

I went to school around here and a group of us were coordinating on Facebook to go over there, volunteer, pick up some groceries and drop it off at the shelter etc.... Just got the word a couple hours ago that volunteers FAR outnumber the victims, they have more groceries and supplies that they could ever use and they are sending people back.

Nice to see...

That is very encouraging to hear, Terrel.

[Brian4Liberty]

You should ask this of your local gas company too.

Questions:

Did they tell these people there was a high pressure 24" gas line in their back yard when they purchased their home?

Did they tell them it was "perfectly safe"?

One guy said he smelt a gas smell from the sewer for about 3 weeks, PG&E came out and then left. Why couldn't the PG&E guys find the leak, and why did they just give up?

Does PG&E regularly check these lines with robotic equipment from the INSIDE?

Are there ANY devices installed so when there's a sudden drop in pressure it shuts the flow off?

WHY DIDN'T THE GAS SHUT OFF AUTOMATICALLY? It's 2010 DAMN IT! We have microprocessors and all sorts of new types of sensors.

Is PG&E required to inform the close by people of results of their inspections on a yearly basis? WHY NOT? It would keep them on their toes.

Comment: I'm tired of these so called professional, college educated engineers who design these things and think they are safe. Airplanes that crash, trains that crash, things killing people, all sorts of engineering gone wrong, when it's pretty obvious and simple why they failed AFTER THE FACT. If you are going to engineer something that might kill people, DO IT RIGHT! Spend the time to think it all through and have someone else look it over, and then LISTEN TO THE ADVICE you stupid arrogant MURDERING bastards! (yea, I've worked with some of these a-holes)

Ironically, that area has been fighting PG&E for years over replacing the large transmission gas pipes. Nobody wants the new one near them (NIMBY), so the old ones haven't been replaced.

[rancher89]

That is very encouraging to hear, Terrel.

Good, very nice to hear.

[MelissaWV]

Bump (because this should be more important to most people, for many reasons, than book-burning).

From what I saw on the news, yeah, there was a lot of donated "stuff" for victims to pick through. No one was complaining about being hungry or lacking medical care. The people they interviewed were pretty well-bandaged and people seem to be making do with what they can find around to help each other (one guy was using a shopping cart for a walker).

[oyarde]

Obama may take it over... :(

Probably working on it right now . First he has to see whos ass to kick and who needs a boot on the throat .

[free1]

It was a steel pipe!

They still have a lot of these all across the country. It's time to find out where they are in your town and have them replaced. I'm sure you have seen what happens to steel after it rusts, it turns into a crumbling worthless pile of orange stuff.

I don't see why they can't push a plastic pipe into the existing pipes, so they don't have to dig the thing up. The new plastic pipes are much safer and more earthquake proof.

In one video I thought I saw half of a big pipe laying on the street near the "crater", it looked like 1/2 of a pipe, about a car length or two long, meaning it ripped open on both sides and flew into the air.

On top of that they buried a water main in the same area, so it could have been leaking and caused the steel pipe to rust.

[Bruno]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pipeline_accidents

Belgium
2004: A major natural gas pipeline exploded in Ghislenghien, Belgium near Ath (thirty kilometres southwest of Brussels), killing at least 23 people and leaving 122 wounded, some critically on July 30, 2004.
[edit] Nigeria
1998: At Jesse in the Niger Delta in Nigeria, a petroleum pipeline exploded killing about 1200 villagers, some of whom were scavenging gasoline. The worst of several similar incidents in this country.[1] (October 17, 1998)
2000: Another pipeline explosion near the town of Jesse killed about 250 villagers.[1] (July 10, 2000)
2000: At least 100 villagers died when a ruptured pipeline exploded in Warri.[1] (July 16, 2000)
2000: A leaking pipeline caught fire near the fishing village of Ebute near Lagos, killing at least 60 people.[1] (November 30, 2000)
2003: A pipeline punctured by thieves exploded and killed 125 villagers near Umuahia, Abia State.[1] (June 19, 2003)
2004: A pipeline punctured by thieves exploded and killed dozens of people in Lagos State.[1] (September 17, 2004)
2006: An oil pipeline punctured by thieves exploded and killed 150 people at the Atlas Creek Island in Lagos State.[2] (May 12, 2006)
2006: A vandalised oil pipeline exploded in Lagos. Up to 500 people may have been killed.[3] (December 26, 2006)
2008: The 2008 Ijegun pipeline explosion (May 16)
[edit] Russia
1989: Sparks from two passing trains detonated gas leaking from an LPG pipeline near Ufa, Russia. Up to 645 people were reported killed on June 4, 1989.
[edit] United States
1965: Gas transmission pipeline, north of Natchitoches, Louisiana, belonging to the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company explodes from stress corrosion cracking, killing 17 people. This accident lead to then President Lyndon B. Johnson to call for the formation of a national pipeline safety agency. (March 4, 1965)
1968: Ruptured LPG pipeline, near Yutan, Nebraska. Repair crews responded to a pipeline rupture, thought vapors were dispersed, but ignited a vapor cloud by driving into it. Five repairmen were killed. (December 5, 1968)
1969: Low pressure natural gas distribution system, Gary, Indiana. (June 3, 1969)
1969: High pressure natural gas pipeline. A 14-inch (360 mm) natural gas pipeline running at 789 psi near Houston, Texas ruptures, causing a massive fire. Construction work downstream of the accident lead to a pressure build up that caused the rupture. September 9, 1969.
1970: Colonial Pipeline Company, petroleum products pipeline, Jacksonville, Maryland, (September 3, 1970.
1970: 1970 Propane vapour cloud explosion in Port Hudson, Phillips Pipeline Company propane gas explosion, Franklin County, Missouri. Leak lead to propane cloud explosion with a force of several tons of TNT. (December 9, 1970)
1970: Explosion of a 30 inch diameter 1100 psi inlet natural gas pipeline, bringing offshore natural gas into a gas drying plant in southern Louisiana. Two plant personnel were killed. Rupture was at a junction of a 12 inch gas line to the 30 inch main line. (December 1970)
1972: Rupture of propane pipeline, near Butler, Alabama. A road grader in use hit a high pressure propane pipeline. A short time after the line was ruptured, a car drove into the vapor cloud, igniting it, and killing four people. (June 20, 1972)
1973: Natural gas liquids pipeline rupture. Austin, Texas A natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline ruptured due to an improper weld. Six people killed. (February 22, 1973)
1975: Natural gas liquids pipeline rupture. An NGL pipeline ruptured due to previous mechanical damage at Devers, Texas. 4 killed in vapor cloud fire. (May 12, 1975)
1975: LPG pipeline rupture. An LPG pipeline ruptured near Romulus, Michigan, due to previous mechanical damage to the pipeline and over pressurization from operator error at a storage facility. Nine people were injured in the vapor cloud fire. (August 2, 1975)
1976 LPG pipeline rupture. An LPG pipeline ruptured near Whitharral, Texas, leading to vapor cloud fire that killed five and destroyed two homes. Electrical resistance weld (ERW) failure is suspected for the failure. (February 25, 1976)
1976 Petroleum products pipeline. A front loader hit an eight inch petroleum products pipeline in Los Angeles, California during a road widening project along Venice Boulevard. 9 were killed, and serious property damage occurred.(June 16, 1976)
1976 Natural gas pipeline rupture. A road grader hit a 20-inch (510 mm) gas transmission pipeline near Cartwright, Louisiana. Six killed in the following fire. (August 9, 1976)
1977 LPG pipeline rupture. A LPG pipeline ruptured near Ruff Creek, Pennsylvania from stress corrosion cracking. The resulting propane vapor cloud ignited when a truck driven into the cloud stalled, then created a spark when it was restarted. (July 20, 1977)
1978 LPG pipeline rupture and fire. An LPG pipeline at Donnellson, Iowa ruptured from past mechanical damage and improper lowering for road improvements. The vapor cloud ignited several minutes after the rupture. Three people were killed. (August 4, 1978)
1978 A gas pipeline in Brookside Village, Texas ruptured and exploded, killing five people, and injuring 43 others. Seven mobile homes were also destroyed, (October 24, 1978)
1979 Natural gas pipeline rupture. An anchor handling boat, PETE TIDE II, damages an unmarked gas pipeline with a grappling hook offshore from New Orleans, Louisiana. A fire followed, and the two of the crew were missing and presumed dead. (July 15, 1979)
1980 A pipeline carrying naptha ruptured under a street in Long Beach, California, causing a fire that destroyed one home and damaged several others. Two people were injured. Lack of communication of pipeline valve setups, and pressure relief valves set to open at too high a pressure were identified by the NTSB as causes of the accident. (December 1, 1980)
1981 A 12-inch-diameter (300 mm) pipeline near Ackerly, TX, was hit by a rathole drill, releasing an ethane-propane mix. There was then an explosion & fire that killed 4 people. (September 27, 1981)
1983 An 8-inch (200 mm) LPG pipeline was hit by a rotating auger used for planting trees near West Odessa, TX. After several minutes, the escaping LPG ignited, killing 5 people & injuring 5 others. (March 15, 1983)
1984 An 8-inch (200 mm) NGL pipeline near Hurst, TX, was hit by a front loader, and the escaping gases ignited, causing burns to the equipment operator. (February 28, 1984)
1985 A 30-inch-diameter (760 mm) gas pipeline weakened by atmospheric corrosion ruptured near Beaumont, KY. 5 people were killed, and 3 injured. (April 27, 1985)
1986 A 30-inch-diameter (760 mm) gas pipeline ruptures due to corrosion near Lancaster, KY. 3 people had serious burns, and 5 others had lesser injuries. (February 21, 1986)
1986 A backhoe snags a gas distribution line in Fort Worth, TX, causing a break that leaked gas into a unoccupied building. Later, that building exploded, injuring 22 people, destroying the unoccupied building, & damaging 40 other buildings. 57 automobiles in the unoccupied building were damaged or destroyed. (March 12, 1986)
1986 Petroleum products pipeline rupture at Mounds View, Minnesota. Gasoline at 1,434 psi sprayed a residential area around 4:20 am local time, then ignited. Two were killed, and many homes damaged or destroyed. Confusion by the pipeline company lead to a delay in shutting down the pipeline. Electrical resistance welded (ERW) seam failure caused the rupture. (July 8, 1986)
1989 Petroleum products pipeline failure after the San Bernardino train disaster, California. Damage from derailment cleanup caused petroleum products pipelines to rupture, spraying homes with gasoline. Three killed in following fire.
1989 New York City Con Edison Steam Pipe explosion, rupture 3 are killed in the 3rd ave- Grammercy Park area.
1990 Propane pipeline rupture and fire, North Blenheim, New York, March 13, 1990. Stress from previous work done on a pipeline causes rupture, vapor cloud moved downhill into a town. 2 killed and numerous buildings destroyed when the cloud ignited.
1993 On Sunday, March 28 at 8:48, a pressurized 36-inch-diameter (910 mm) petroleum product pipeline owned and operated by Colonial Pipeline Company ruptured near Hemdon, Virginia. The rupture created a geyser which sprayed diesel fuel over 75 feet into the air, coating overhead powerlines and adjacent trees, and misting adjacent Virginia Electric Power Company buildings. The diesel fuel spewed from the rupture into an adjacent storm water management pond and flowed overland and through a network of storm sewer pipes before reaching Sugarland Run Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River.[4]
1994 Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation Natural Gas Pipeline Explosion and Fire Previous damage cause a natural gas transmission pipeline to rupture at Edison, New Jersey on March 23, 1994.
1996 Butane Pipeline rupture and fire, near Lively, Texas, August 24, 1996. 2 killed after driving into an unseen butane cloud. Leak was caused by external corrosion.
1997 Pipeline Rupture and Fire, Indianapolis, Indiana, July 21, 1997.
1998 Natural Gas Explosion and Fire, South Riding, Virginia, July 7, 1998.
1998 Natural Gas Pipeline Rupture and Subsequent Explosion, St. Cloud, Minnesota, December 11, 1998.
1999 Natural Gas Explosion and Fire at a gas pressure station, Wytheville, Virginia, destroying a home and motorcycle store.[5] (January 3, 1999)
1999 Natural Gas Service Line and Rupture and Subsequent Explosion and Fire, Bridgeport, Alabama, January 22, 1999
1999 A pipeline in a Bellingham, Washington park leaked gasoline, vapor from the leak exploded and killed 2 10 year old boys and an 18 year old man on June 10, 1999. Issues causing the rupture were found to be previous pipe damage by excavation, incorrectly set up pressure relief valve, unexpected remote valve closure, and new software tests on the live controlling computer.
2000 Hazardous Liquid Pipe Failure and Leak, Explorer Pipeline Company, Greenville, Texas, March 9, 2000.
2000 Natural Gas Pipeline Rupture and Fire Near Carlsbad, New Mexico This Explosion Killed 12 Members Of The Same Family. Cause was due to severe internal corrosion of the pipeline. (August 19, 2000)
2000 Rupture of Piney Point Oil Pipeline and Release of Fuel Oil Near Chalk Point, Maryland, April 7, 2000.
2002 Rupture of Enbridge Pipeline and Release of Crude Oil near Cohasset, Minnesota, On July 4, 2002 an Enbridge pipeline ruptured in a marsh near Cohasset, in Itasca County, spilling 6,000 barrels (~250,000 gallons) of crude oil. In an attempt to keep the oil from contaminating the Mississippi River, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources set a controlled burn that lasted for 1 day and created a smoke plume about 1 mile high and 5 miles long.[6]
2003 Excavation Damage to Natural Gas Distribution Line Resulting in Explosion and Fire, Wilmington, Delaware, July 2, 2003.
2004 On November 21, 2004, a 14-inch-diameter (360 mm) petroleum multiproduct pipeline sprung a leak that was transporting gasoline at the time of the release. The pipeline, owned and operated by the California-Nevada Pipeline Company, a subsidiary of Kinder-Morgan Energy Partners, is the main source of petroleum fuel products for Las Vegas, NV. An 80 foot geyser was discovered on the morning of November 22, 2004, after numerous complaints of a strong gasoline odor on Interstate 15 in northern San Bernardino County, CA.[7]
2007 On January 1, an Enbridge pipeline that runs from Superior, Wisconsin to near Whitewater, Wisconsin failed, resulting in a spill of ~50,000 gallons of crude oil onto farmland and into a drainage ditch.[8] The same pipeline was struck by construction crews on February 2, 2007, in Rusk County, Wisconsin, spilling ~126,000 gallons of crude. Some of the oil filled a hole more than 20 feet deep and was reported to have contaminated the local water table.[9]
2007 2007 New York City steam explosion, on July 18, 2007
2007 A 12-inch (300 mm) propane pipeline explodes, killing two and injuring five others near Carmichael, AL on November 1, 2007. The NTSB determined the probable cause was likely ERW seam failure. Inadequate education of residents near the pipeline about how to respond to a pipeline accident was also cited as a factor in the deaths.
2008 Natural gas pipeline explodes and catches fire on February 5, near Hartsville, TN Believed to have been caused by a tornado hitting the facility.
2008 A gasoline release from a petroleum pipeline occurred on November 25, 2008 at a retail mall in Murrysville, PA. Officials said the release occurred from the six-inch line at about 9:30 a.m. while a Sunoco Logistics crew was working on a ball valve.[10]
2009 A rupture of pipeline near Cygnet, Ohio, owned by Philadelphia-based Sunoco Logistics Partners LP, resulted in one of the largest oil spills in Wood County history. Feb. 18, 2009.[11]
2009 Natural gas pipeline explodes and catches fire on May 5, 2009 near Rockville, IN in Parke County about 24 miles north of Terre haute, IN. PHMSA indicated the possibility of external corrosion in its Corrective Action Order (CAO) to the pipeline company. Pictures have been released around the area showing the damage caused. 49 homes were evacuated in a one-mile area of the explosion. No injuries reported.
2009 Bushland, Texas — Two people hurt when a natural gas pipeline exploded in the Texas Panhandle. The explosion early Thursday 5 November left a hole about 30 yards by 20 yards and close to 15 feet deep. The blast shook homes, melted window blinds and shot flames hundreds of feet into the air. The home nearest the blast — about 100 yards away- was destroyed. Bushland is about 15 miles west of Amarillo.[12]
2009 A new 42-inch (1,100 mm) gas transmission pipeline near Philo, Ohio fails on the second day of operation. There was no fire, but evacuations resulted. (November 14, 2009)
2010 On Monday, July 26, the pipeline company, Enbridge Energy Partners LLP (Enbridge), reported that a 30-inch (760 mm) pipeline belonging to Enbridge burst in Marshall, Michigan. The company estimates over 800,000 gallons of crude oil leaked into Talmadge Creek, a waterway that feeds the Kalamazoo River.[13] [14] [15]
2010 On Thursday, September 9, a high pressure gas pipeline exploded in San Bruno, CA. It destroyed 38 homes and damaged 120 homes. Four people died and many were injured. 10 acres burned in total.[16] [17]

[Dr.3D]

It was a steel pipe!

They still have a lot of these all across the country. It's time to find out where they are in your town and have them replaced. I'm sure you have seen what happens to steel after it rusts, it turns into a crumbling worthless pile of orange stuff.

I don't see why they can't push a plastic pipe into the existing pipes, so they don't have to dig the thing up. The new plastic pipes are much safer and more earthquake proof.

In one video I thought I saw half of a big pipe laying on the street near the "crater", it looked like 1/2 of a pipe, about a car length or two long, meaning it ripped open on both sides and flew into the air.

On top of that they buried a water main in the same area, so it could have been leaking and caused the steel pipe to rust.

The last natural gas pipeline I worked on was made of five inch diameter steel pipe holding 300 psi gas. I'm not so sure they make plastic pipe that size that can hold that kind of pressure.

[Bruno]

The last natural gas pipeline I worked on was made of five inch diameter steel pipe holding 300 psi gas. I'm not so sure they make plastic pipe that size that can hold that kind of pressure.

They should work on a cost-effective alternative, or better monitor and replace the existing pipe.

[Brian4Liberty]

On top of that they buried a water main in the same area, so it could have been leaking and caused the steel pipe to rust.

Joint trenches are common. Which is why natural gas can come up everywhere when it leaks. It can even go into the sewer line and come up in your bathroom. Fairly recently a house blew-up because the gas leaked into the sewer which went into a bathroom and then they lit a cigarette...

[oyarde]

Joint trenches are common. Which is why natural gas can come up everywhere when it leaks. It can even go into the sewer line and come up in your bathroom. Fairly recently a house blew-up because the gas leaked into the sewer which went into a bathroom and then they lit a cigarette...

I smoke in the batroom sometimes , guess it is good I am on a well .

[Brian4Liberty]

I smoke in the batroom sometimes , guess it is good I am on a well .

As long as they aren't frackin for gas in your area...