A ‘ gigantic mess’
Penn Hills officials blame fire’s severity on a slow response by Peoples Natural Gas
A day after a gas- fueled fire and explosion destroyed four businesses in Penn Hills and injured seven firefighters, municipal officials blamed the blaze’s severity on what they claimed was a slow reaction by Peoples Natural Gas.
Efforts to extinguish the fire at Churchill Center were hampered by a continuing flow of natural gas at the site that was not shut off by the utility for hours, according to the municipal manager and fire chief.
“It’s a gigantic mess,” Penn Hills Manager Scott Andrejchak said Monday. “We’re furious we didn’t get cooperation from the gas company, so now we have seven injuries in part because they couldn’t get the gas off in time.”
“If they would have shut this off when we asked,” fire Chief Bill Jeffcoat said, “100% this could have been prevented.”
Peoples acknowledged that there were problems locating the shut- off valve to one of the gas lines because its lid was mislabeled, and it said that utility crews’ efforts were complicated by having to maneuver around fire equipment and rushing water.
The fire Sunday night at Frankstown Road and Pennoak Drive began at Big Shot Bob’s House of Wings and spread to neighboring tenants — Disability Options Network Services, Eagle Rentals and Cefola’s Dry Cleaners. Officials responded shortly after 7 p. m. By Monday morning, the once- busy shopping plaza was littered with piles of scorched debris.
Seven firefighters were injured. Four went to UPMC Mercy hospital with minor burns following an explosion just before 10 p. m. They were treated and released. Three others who suffered injuries including an ankle injury and heat exhaustion were treated at the scene.
Fire officials said that upon arriving, they noticed natural gas coming from near Big Shot Bob’s and immediately contacted Peoples to shut off service. Utility workers arrived less than 30 minutes later but struggled to locate a gas line that was fueling the fire, officials said.
“There’s no amount of water we could put on the fire when it’s fed by natural gas,” said Chief
Jeffcoat.
Volunteer firefighters from Penn Hills, Edgewood, Churchill and surrounding areas were on the scene when an explosion about 9: 45 p. m. caused the front roof of Big Shot Bob’s to collapse, injuring four firefighters.
They were trapped briefly but were freed and treated by medics, officials said.
Peoples didn’t completely shut off the gas until roughly five hours after the fire was called in, the chief said.
In a statement, Peoples spokesman Barry Kukovich said the utility shut down two of three main gas lines shortly after arriving. Two of the lines went to the building that initially caught fire, and a third went to an adjacent building.
Utility workers quickly shut off gas for the line that went to the adjacent building and a line located in the back of the affected building. But the third line fed meters inside the front of the burning building,
“The shut- off valve to the service line which led to the front meters could not be located immediately because, instead of the originally placed Peoples Gas cover, the valve box lid had a water cover placed over it,” Mr. Kukovich said. He said he wasn’t sure how this happened.
Even when the utility workers figured out that they had found the gas valve, “we were not able immediately to shut off the valve because fire equipment was strategically placed to fight the fire and obstructed complete access to the valve,” Mr. Kukovich said.
Asked why the equipment wasn’t moved out of the way, he said, “I wish I could answer that ... We requested the fire company move the vehicle and apparently it could not be. I’m assuming it was placed where it specifically needed to be placed to fight the fire most effectively.”
“The shut- off valve to the service line which led to the front meters could not be located immediately because instead of the originally placed Peoples Gas cover, the valve box lid had a water cover placed over it.” — Barry Kukovich, Peoples spokesman
Crews dug a hole adjacent to the fire truck that was in the way in to confirm they had found the correct gas valve.
“To operate the valve, we had to cut our standard steel valve key in half and angle it under the bumper of the fire vehicle,” Mr. Kukovich said. “This was accomplished while working in running water four to five inches deep.”
Mr. Kukovich said shutting the main gas line on Frankstown Road was not an option because they would have had to dig two deep holes in the roadway to cap gas flow.
“We would have had to cut through concrete to reach the pipe,” Mr. Kukovich said in a statement. “The holes would have measured a minimum of five by six feet. Each would have had to be a minimum of five feet deep. We ruled out this option because it would have been more time- consuming than the action we pursued.”
Property damage estimates ranged from $ 1.2 million to $ 1.5 million, according to Chief Jeffcoat.
“You had four rent- paying tenants, so that itself adds value,” he said.
“We had a total loss,” said Steve Cardella, vice president of operations at DON Services. “We’re going to have to look for a new space, but fortunately we have three other offices, in Donora, New Castle and Greensburg.”
Mr. Andrejchak said Peoples Gas needs to reevaluate its procedures.
“If you don’t pay your gas bill, they don’t hesitate to cut your service off quickly,” he said. “This is unacceptable.”
The Penn Hills fire marshal was investigating.