Con Ed Gas Infastructure

[x635 4,066]

It seems like gas calls have overtaken every other type of call in Westchester County as far as volume, beating out automatic alarms.

Now, is it Con Ed covering their butts, or is the Con Ed infrastructure just deteriorating? I can only imagine that Con Ed is spending a fortune responding to these emergencies, and would be an even bigger chunk of change as replacing gas mains is expensive and inconveniences neighborhoods.

I also notice their is a lot of contractor damage to gas mains. Is there something to that? Are contractors not being cautious, are they not marking where the main is correctly?

[Oaks 18]

I would think they are being abundantly cautious, which is not a bad thing.

[x635 4,066]

I'm still curious as to what's behind this, as these calls have overtaken the responses of local departments.

[oldschool 12]

How is gas leaking from a stove Con Ed's problem? Shouldn't the resident just turn off the gas and call a plumber?

[dwcfireman 656]

How is gas leaking from a stove Con Ed's problem? Shouldn't the resident just turn off the gas and call a plumber?

A lot of gas calls are more than just internal problems. There is an aging infrastructure, and there are still the annoyance calls because appliances aren't installed correctly. Combined, they are taking a toll on the emergency services system. There is no immediate fix. We're going to be going on these calls a lot, for a long time.

[gss131 212]

It's a combination of things. The spike without a doubt began with the first big explosion a couple of years ago down the city when that was all there was on the news. The average citizen called if their neighbor farted. Then Con Ed changed their protocol, they were not taking anymore chances. If someone calls , they send everybody. Add the road work being done. In preparation they have a guy in the field checking curbs ahead of the blacktop guys. They are finding them as they go. And , then you'll always have the slumlords that replace crappy appliances with ones even worse.

[SECTMB 612]

Go Modern, Go Gas, Go Boom.

When I monitor the radio, I often hear requests for Con-Ed for either gas issues or electrical service issues that require immediate assistance to mitigate an problem that is hampering the firefighting operation. The initial calls are usually followed by requests for updates on their time of arrival, then followed with a response that is non committal. You know, they'll get there when they get there.

Why doesn't Con-Ed have a 24/7 emergency response vehicle (lights and siren) with specially trained technicians and equipment to respond to fire calls with gas or electrical service issues?

[velcroMedic1987 330]

They've done a lot of training for local agencies and explain this quite well in their class. If a complaint to Con Ed meets certain criteria (multiple calls, sensitive location, symptoms, etc.), they automatically notify the local FD and simultaneously dispatch their crews. Following the fatal explosion in NYC a couple years ago the State has mandated even more notifications to the local FD. The PSC also requires a response by the utility within 60 minutes to most complaints (there might be some complaints that require a 30 minute response but I don't remember the criteria) so they don't respond as quickly as an FD does.

[velcroMedic1987 330]

Go Modern, Go Gas, Go Boom.

When I monitor the radio, I often hear requests for Con-Ed for either gas issues or electrical service issues that require immediate assistance to mitigate an problem that is hampering the firefighting operation. The initial calls are usually followed by requests for updates on their time of arrival, then followed with a response that is non committal. You know, they'll get there when they get there.

Why doesn't Con-Ed have a 24/7 emergency response vehicle (lights and siren) with specially trained technicians and equipment to respond to fire calls with gas or electrical service issues?

Why should they respond to fire calls with lights or sirens? They're not a fire department.

Don't they teach us to mitigate most hazards or at least operate safely until they get there?

[ac316scu 31]

But in regards to operate safely and mitigate hazards on Ossinings 10-75 a few weeks ago they had the power lines connecting to the house right were the fire was. Wouldn't it make more sense to have them be able to respond to situations like that with lights and sirens? I'm not saying they go to everything with them but if it's an emergency and will help everyone stay safe I don't see a problem with it.