It was a relatively minor event, but the response showed local readiness for larger incidents.
On June 30, a number of homes in the multi-family development at 5711 Ebbtide Ave. in Sechelt were evacuated for 30 to 45 minutes, out of what Sechelt Fire Department’s Matt Gilroy called “an abundance of caution” related to a reported natural gas leak.
The incident was reported to Sechelt Fire at 4:24 p.m. after a resident called 9-1-1. Gilroy said that on arrival at the scene, department members went door to door to alert and evacuate people living in the most westerly row of the townhomes.
“While we were doing that, we were also looking at the “what ifs”: what if this is something big, what if it grows bigger, what other issues could come out of this? We had our ERT guide, our emergency response guide, which gives us direction for such things as compressed gas spills,” he explained.
“We were planning ahead if this was something bigger or got bigger, which it did not. We had gas meters on scene that were showing pretty low levels (one to two parts per million) in the air, so at that point we weren’t too concerned, but before we let people back into their homes we went through their places with a gas detector to ensure no gas had filtered in.”
Equipment venting cause suspected
As for the cause of the incident, FortisBC spokesperson Nicholas Insley told Coast Reporter by email “it is most likely that the detected gas odour was the result of an equipment issue we experienced at our station in Sechelt which resulted in the venting of gas”.
“We undertake regular inspections and maintenance of our equipment and infrastructure to ensure they’re operating properly. In this instance, we responded soon after being made aware of the issue and we were able to isolate and stop the venting. There was no interruption of service or customer impact.”
Gilroy said the RCMP also attended at the scene and there were minor traffic disruptions of “a minute or two here and there” on Hightide Avenue.
What to do if you suspect a natural gas leak
Both Insley and Gilroy said the resident acted correctly in reporting the suspected leak to 9-1-1.
“We would like to remind everyone that if you smell rotten eggs or hear the sound of escaping gas, stop what you’re doing, go outside and dial 9-1-1 or call FortisBC’s 24-hour emergency line at 1-800-663-9911” Insley wrote.
