Columbia Gas outage expected to last days

A service outage affecting about 1,700 Columbia Gas customers in Washington County is expected to continue for a couple days, a company official said.

Lee Gierczynski, a Columbia Gas spokesman, said Saturday evening that crews were in the process of shutting off service to customers in Donora after a contractor doing work on a gas line “inadvertently introduced air into the system.”

The shutdown was done “out of an abundance of caution” and there is no threat to customers, Columbia Gas said.

Crews should have all gas meters shut off before noon Sunday, but it will take up to 48 hours to restore service to customers, Mr. Gierczynski said. Once service is restored, crews will go door-todoor to perform safety checks and relight natural gas appliances.

Customers with special needs or medical concerns should contact Columbia Gas at 1-888-460-4332.

Warming centers have been set up in three locations:

▪ Carroll Township Social Hall (130 Baird Ave., Monongahela)

▪ Carroll Township Volunteer Fire Department (988 Route 837, Monongahela)

▪ Donora Council Chambers (603 Meldon Ave., Donora)

Columbia Gas officials said residents in need of transportation to the warming stations can call 724-379-6600. The American Red Cross also is helping staff at least one of the centers, said spokesman Dan Tobin.

A fourth warming station that was located in the Charleroi Fire Department has been closed.

Columbia Gas will provide updates on its Twitter and Facebook accounts.