One Year After the Columbia Gas Disaster, Responders Reflect on Best Practices

The Columbia Gas disaster, in which multiple Massachusetts communities were rocked by a series of natural gas explosions, happened one year ago today. Although Columbia Gas remains under scrutiny for the catastrophe, it could have been worse if not for a very effective and efficient response that utilized many best practices.

Recently, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) interviewed a handful of fire fighters that were on the scene, and they all agreed on several key points around best practices that are directly relevant to emergency response in the utility industry.

What the Gas Disaster Taught Us

The full script of the fire fighter interviews can be found here.  Note – it’s a very long article.  For the more attention-challenged, here is a summary of what the interviewed fire fighters learned during the Columbia Gas disaster:

• The Incident Command System – or ICS – is the best way to efficiently organize resources and manage roles, especially second roles, and helps streamline and improve lines of communication.
• Staging areas must be setup properly in an accessible location in order to effectively coordinate and allocate internal and external resources.
• It is critical to have a mutual assistance plan, and to request help early in the process.
• In order to optimize communications in a chaotic situation, communication discipline is critical, especially keeping radio traffic to a minimum in order ensure lines are open for the most critical issues.
• Lessons can only be learned if all important events and requests are recorded and maintained in a log until the event is over.

As you can see, pretty much all of these best practices are applicable to the utility industry.  It’s good to know that other types of first responding entities are of a similar mindset.  And while the Columbia Gas disaster was unique in terms of scope and severity, these principles can and should be considered for any emergency response situation no matter how large of small. 

The bottom line is that if the Columbia Gas disaster taught us anything, it’s that being prepared and having a solid emergency plan in place is critical to effective recovery.