Gas relief valve blows

2016-05-07

The Fort Frances Fire and Rescue Service and Union Gas responded to a natural gas relief valve going off early yesterday evening at the Union Gas town border station (TBS) on Mowat Avenue.
A member of the public had reported the smell of natural gas in the vicinity of the Bell building.
Firefighters investigated the area, could hear a gas leak, and realized it was coming from a valve somewhere at the TBS.
A Union Gas crew arrived immediately and determined it was coming from a relief valve.
“What we found out is there was some debris caught in one of our regulators, which caused a safety relief valve to blow—that is the proper design,” explained Union Gas spokesperson Ian Ross.
“All of the safety devices acted properly,” he stressed.
“The employees that arrived there corrected the situation and everything is back to normal.”
Ross added there was no customer service interruption, explaining that when the Union Gas crew arrived, they immediately switched over to a secondary run.
He noted the safety relief valve let off a small amount of natural gas, and this is what the person who reported it must have smelled.
“That’s usually the way we get notified,” Ross said. “Somebody smells gas, calls the fire department, and then we’re notified.”
Firefighters tested for gas in the air in the vicinity, including the Legion, the only nearby building occupied at time of the evening.
Not only could they smell nothing, but nothing showed up on their gas test readings.
They concluded any gas released immediately dissipated.