# CT Explosion of Gas plant-Konnie?



## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

Wonder if Konnie and her lab are working this? 

Stay safe.


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## Geoff Empey (Jan 8, 2008)

That's real close to Konnie's place I remember driving by it when I was down there. 

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/a...-2-dead-in-connecticut-power-plant-blast?bn=1


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

Her husband must be working it for sure...isn't he a firefighter?


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## Jeanne Meldrim (Mar 27, 2008)

Konnie's husband does not work close to Middletown. On the last update I saw of which departments were sent to the scene, his was not one of them.


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## Geoff Empey (Jan 8, 2008)

Jennifer Coulter said:


> Her husband must be working it for sure...isn't he a firefighter?


Yup .. but he is based out of Greenwich I believe. Depends if they can isolate the gas fire if they would need to go outside of the local municipality for help though. What I heard in the media was the gas leakage was controlled after the blast. So I'm assuming that. I've dealt numerous times with dangerous situations with natural gas leaks big and small in my past life as a first responder. It's not fun and very nerve wracking as a little mistake has big consequences such as this. 

My background was h2o and sewer mostly, but was involved a few times in pressure testing gas mains. Any time we did that it was done with a hydrostatic pressure test meaning we would push h2o into the pipe fill it and then run it up to and past working pressure with a hi pressure pump. Even charged with h2o at those pressures there was a lot of force behind it but at least it wasn't flammable. Most of the big gas mains are welded steel incased in plastic or cement. 

We had a 12" PVC water main fail on us at approx 60psi while we were installing a house service tap. The 2 guys in the hole one was blown into the wall of the shoring box with the other guy thrown from the force of the water right out of the hole as he was on top of the main. This was with the h2o turned off just the pressure that was left in the pipe! Both guys had lots of wounds from the PVC shrapnel. I was pretty lucky I was the top man that day. I'm so glad I'm retired!


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

I see. I tend to forget that city departments are large and close together. I heard 100 firefighters were on scene and my small town mind was thinking they must be comming from all over.

I did hear on the news that there are dogs on scene. Her husband is also a FEMA handler no?


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## Anne Jones (Mar 27, 2006)

Konnie's husband works as a firefighter in the lower part of Farfield county, this event took place up state, several counties away from his firehouse. I would guess that more local fire departments were called in.

I don't know if their unit was called out for USAR or not. I understand that they have had dogs working the site.


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## Al Curbow (Mar 27, 2006)

There wasn't a gas leak.


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## Konnie Hein (Jun 14, 2006)

We were called on Sunday to respond to this incident through our State DEMHS USAR team. Our team is similar to a FEMA team, in that there are a variety of disaster response specialists as members. Some folks have asked me specifics about the search, and since the incident is still under investigation, here's what I can tell you: 

The local fire and police departments were the first responders to the scene. One of our USAR team members is also the Assistant Chief for the Middletown Fire Department, and he acted as the Incident Commander. It was nice to have a familiar face to put together a game plan with.

Both my husband Mark and I responded. He is our Search Team Manager and I am a Canine Search Specialist. I brought my dog Hero, who is also my FEMA certified USAR dog with FEMA's MATF-1. 

We were given a team briefing and the team managers developed a plan for searching the site. As soon as the fire was out, my dog and I entered the site to search. We were the first search team to enter, aside from the local fire response who conducted an exterior search for possible survivors. We did what I would call a "hasty" search, trying to cover as much ground as efficiently as possible in order to identify any trapped people. My teammate Tom Moorcroft (also a member of this forum) followed with his dog, double-checking areas of interest as well as investigating interior rooms that I bypassed. Other members of our team conducted foot searches throughout the site. 

The site was pretty dangerous, borderline for safe entry. There was a lot of overhanging debris that fell throughout the day. The wind started to pick up as the sun went down, blowing more debris off the building. After searching pretty much the entire site, and experiencing a close call with a sheet of insulated metal siding, we decided to momentarily suspend our canine search operations until the wind died down.

We also called in our MATF-1 FEMA team for assistance. They arrived on scene at around 8 p.m. and helped us finish up a few tasks. We did not leave the site until 3 a.m. My dog worked the entire day without a break and then went back out again to do some more searching as new information came in.

The devastation was pretty amazing. It was also very tragic. Five men lost their lives due to the explosion and many more were badly injured. My heart goes out to their families.


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## Melissa Blazak (Apr 14, 2008)

A man from my city was working there and was one of the people killed. They interviewed his sister on the news last night.

He leaves behind a wife and a 4 year old daughter.


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

About all I can say is thanks for doing this. Anyone who takes a serious risk to life and limb to save another has my utmost respect.


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## Martine Loots (Dec 28, 2009)

I second that. Respect to all the helpers!


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## Melissa Blazak (Apr 14, 2008)

Forgot to add.....Thank you for doing what you do. Just from the newscast footage it looked pretty bad.


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## Konnie Hein (Jun 14, 2006)

Thanks. 

I am amazed by the guys who were first on the scene. They are truly heroes. By the time I entered the structure, the major hazards were abated (fires, gas leaks, live electricity, etc.) and all the folks who escaped the buildings were taken care of. I can only imagine what went through their minds as they drove up on the scene. A scene like that has to be a fire department's worst nightmare, but they were able to tackle it and have things under control within a very short amount of time. The Assistant Chief of the Middletown FD has my complete respect. Talk about strength under pressure. He's it.

I'm also very proud of my canine guys. They take what they do very seriously, and I'm thankful for that. Our canine component is very small (there's only 4 of us), but it's quality that counts and they are all first class.


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## Vi Shaffer (Jan 25, 2010)

Thanks for the update Konnie. I understand that you're limited on what you can say, but you gave us a great overview. Very sad indeed.
God Bless


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## Vi Shaffer (Jan 25, 2010)

Konnie, God Bless all of you! As you said, those first-in are truly heroes. They have so much to contend with before we even get there. And you and your "canine guys"...You should be proud! Good job!


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## Konnie Hein (Jun 14, 2006)

Thanks, Vi. And we are also now hearing stories of the brave efforts of people going back in immediately after the explosion to help their co-workers escape from the buildings. Heroes every one of them.


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

It sounds like the rescue/recovery went as well as possible.

I am sure your team's training and professionalism was well appreciated that day.

Nice work!


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## Konnie Hein (Jun 14, 2006)

A couple of folks here were interested in the details of the explosion and how/why it occurred, so here is a public statement recently released by the CSB:


*Chemical Safety Board Statement on Kleen Energy Catastrophic Accident *
*Statement of CSB Investigations Supervisor Don Holmstrom Updating the Public on the CSB’s Investigation of the Catastrophic Accident at Kleen Energy, Middletown, Connecticut*​ 

Good morning I am CSB Lead Investigator Don Holmstrom; thank you for coming to this CSB news conference. The Chemical Safety Board is an independent federal agency that investigates and reports to the public on the causes of major chemical accidents at industrial sites across the country. The CSB is headed by five board members appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

The CSB’s reports and safety recommendations to Congress, federal and state regulators, and industry are widely followed and applied throughout the United States. Our mission is to prevent disastrous accidents of the kind that occurred here less than three weeks ago.

The safety issues raised by this accident are not limited to Connecticut. These issues are larger than any particular company, facility, or individual. The U.S. has embarked an ambitious construction effort for new natural gas power plants. Thousands and thousands of workers across the country will be involved in constructing these plants. The safety of these workers and the nation’s energy independence are at stake as these gas-fired plants are built over the next 20 years.

The CSB has a team of ten here investigating at the Kleen Energy accident site. On behalf of all of us at the CSB, we extend our deepest condolences to the families of Ronald Crabb, Peter Chepulis, Raymond Dobratz, Kenneth Haskell, Christopher Walters and Roy Rushton. The goal of the CSB investigation is that terrible accidents like this will not happen again and that no families will suffer such tremendous losses in the future. 

The CSB team arrived at the site on February 8th. Since that time, the CSB team has conducted a large number of interviews, reviewed documents, and closely examined the accident site on numerous occasions. We appreciate the outstanding cooperation from the workers at this facility, who despite living through such a horrible ordeal have provided valuable information to CSB investigators.

This accident occurred during a planned work activity to clean debris from natural gas pipes at the plant. To remove the debris, workers used natural gas at a high pressure of approximately 650 pounds per square inch. The high velocity of the natural gas flow was intended to remove any debris in the new piping. At pre-determined locations, this gas was vented to the atmosphere through open pipe ends which were located less than 20 feet off the ground. These vents were adjacent to the main power generation building and along the south wall. The open pipe ends are visible here in the photographs. (Photo not attached)

You can actually see the high-pressure gas venting out of one of these open pipe ends in this photograph taken a short time before the accident on February 7. This cleaning practice is known within the natural gas power industry as a “gas blow.” Industry personnel have indicated to CSB investigators that gas blows are a common practice during the commissioning of new or modified gas pipes at their facilities. 

CSB investigators have reviewed gas utility records for the morning of the accident. These records together with written pipe cleaning procedures and witness testimony confirm that the gas blows occurred intermittently over the course of the morning. At the same time that gas blows were underway, there were potential ignition sources present in the surrounding area, including inside the power plant building. There were many construction-related activities underway inside the building.

Determining the exact ignition source is not a major focus of our investigation at this point. In most industrial worksites, ignition sources are abundant and efforts at accident prevention focus first and foremost on avoiding or controlling the release of flammable gas or vapor.

Initial calculations by CSB investigators reveal that approximately 400,000 standard cubic feet of gas were released to the atmosphere near the building in the final ten minutes before the blast.

That is enough natural gas to fill the entire volume of a pro-basketball arena with an explosive natural gas-air mixture, from the floor to the ceiling. This gas was released into a congested area next to the power block building. This congested area likely slowed the dispersion of the gas. The gas built up above the lower explosive limit of approximately 4% in air and was ignited by an undetermined ignition source.

In the days since the accident, companies and safety regulators from around the world have contacted the CSB asking about the circumstances of this devastating accident. Some companies, including a power plant here in the region, indicated that they themselves have been planning similar gas blows as part of commissioning pipes in the very near future.

A major focus of the CSB investigation is to determine what regulations, codes, and good practices might apply to these gas blows. To this point, no specific codes have been identified, but we are continuing our research. 
In the meantime, we strongly caution natural gas power plants and other industries against the venting of high-pressure natural gas in or near work sites. This practice, although common, is inherently unsafe.

The CSB is investigating possible alternatives to this practice, including the use of air, steam, nitrogen, or water or the use of combustion devices to safely destroy the gas. Combustion devices like flares can safely burn up flammable gas or vapor, preventing the possibility of an explosion.

Recommending safer alternatives will be a primary focus of the CSB investigation as we move forward.

Just three days prior to this tragic accident, the Chemical Safety Board recommended changes to the National Fuel Gas Code to prevent disastrous explosions involving gas purging. We note with great appreciation that just yesterday, at a meeting in San Francisco, the NFPA panel responsible for the fuel gas code voted to move forward with the CSB’s recommendations to make purging practices safer at work sites across America. These provisions will apply at hundreds of thousands of facilities, once fully adopted.

The type of purging described in that code is different from the gas blows used in the power industry, and power plants remain exempt from the national fuel gas code. However, gas purging as defined in the code has certain similarities to gas blows, in that gas is applied at one end of a pipe and gas is intentionally vented at the other end to the atmosphere.

There is an underlying common theme among the tragic accidents at Kleen Energy, the ConAgra Slim Jim plant in North Carolina, the Ford River Rouge power plant in Michigan, the Hilton Hotel in San Diego, and many other purging-related accidents. Companies must ensure that flammable gases are not vented into close proximity with ignition sources and workers. That is a vital safety message from all these tragedies.

We encourage the gas power industry to closely study the very positive actions recommended by the NFPA and the American Gas Association committees yesterday. The CSB investigation will focus on determining what permanent changes in standards or practices are needed to prevent future accidents involving gas blows.


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## Mike Scheiber (Feb 17, 2008)

I have worked on 3 of these new gas plants I was only on site during one of the gas blows it took place on a Sunday we were out of harms way I think on stand by.
I'm now working in a oil refinery :roll:


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## Geoff Empey (Jan 8, 2008)

Nasty stuff .. From the report sounds like the industry hasn't learn't from past mistakes according to the CSB investigators. They still haven't found the source of the ignition but then it could of been as easy as someone dropping a hammer on cement or a static charge off a shoe by someone walking. It would be very interesting to see if the CSB finds out the source of ignition.


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