90 personnel representing 40 area agencies were in attendance for the mock pipeline strike at the Creek County Fairgrounds on Thursday, August 24th.
Oklahoma Natural Gas and Kellyville Volunteer Fire Department worked together in a unified command to control the incident. It went off without any complications. The event was presented by Oklahoma Pipeline Awareness Liaison, Oklahoma Natural Gas, Okie811 and Enertech.
The demonstration was an attempt to raise more public awareness about the danger of striking a natural gas line, due to careless digging or even proper maintenance. Cutting into a telecom, water, or electrical line is bad enough, but when the line struck is carrying natural gas it could be a recipe for true disaster.
“Striking any kind of underground line is not something anyone wants to take lightly,” says Cole Vanderlick, project coordinator with Enertech. “Should it happen to be gas, for instance, you literally have only seconds to make decisions that could save your life. As partners in safety, pipeline companies value the unique skills and expertise of the emergency responders. Working through this scenario, we all gain hands-on experience and learn from each other in the process.”
