A worker for K&R Plumbing last week accidentally cut through a gas line located three inches below the surface of Ninth Avenue last week.
The worker was cutting asphalt in the middle of the street with a rotary saw, said Fire Chief Mike Beaver. “The gas line was right under the asphalt.”
Firefighters blocked the street, notified neighbors and contacted Northwest Natural, he said. The natural gas was allowed to vent to the atmosphere.
Firefighters responded at approximately 9:11 a.m .on Friday at 1548 Ninth Ave.
There was little to no wind to blow the gas into anyone’s homes, Beaver said. Unlike propane, natural gas is lighter than air and can be allowed to vent 99 percent of the time. It can be a problem in enclosed places, like structures.
The worker was lucky the saw didn’t spark and ignite the gas, Beaver said.
“That line should’ve never been 2 inches beneath asphalt,” Beaver said.
The project is part of Phase IV of the city’s inflow and infiltration reduction project. For more than a decade, the city has been replacing and repairing old sewer mains and laterals to reduce I&I, water that leaks into the city’s sewer system during heavy rains.
The worker was cutting asphalt to prepare for excavation and cut through a 3/4-inch pipe located three inches below the surface of the asphalt, said Public Works Director Mike Adams. The pipe was marked on a locate, but the depth is typically 2 or 3 feet.
“It doesn’t appear anything K&R did was wrong or anything,” Adams said. The pipe was where it was supposed to be, but it was not at the standard expected and recognized depth.
It shouldn’t have been that close, but there are probably more around like it, Adams said. It could be so high in the ground as a result of boring, where the jet of water could have deflected upward and then back down again by the asphalt.