After losing their gas service Saturday evening, residents of Donora, in Washington County, differed on how Columbia Gas was handling the problem, but they all agreed on one thing: thank goodness it was a warm weekend.
Charles and Susan Stacey, two retirees speaking shortly after their service was restored Sunday, said their home was cold, but they could imagine it being much worse.
“It could have happened when the temperature was 20 degrees below zero,” Charles Stacey said.
The shutoff, which the company said would be over for most of the 1,700 affected customers within 24 hours, was “done out of an abundance of caution” after a contractor doing work on a gas line “inadvertently introduced air into the system,” said Lee Gierczynski, a Columbia Gas spokesman.
Residents said their gas started being shut down late Saturday afternoon, and the company said it completed the shutoff to customers at 8 a.m. Sunday. Mr. Gierczynski said workers began restoring service at 11 a.m., doing door-to-door safety checks and relighting natural gas appliances.
Temperatures in Donora hovered around or just above freezing, in the 30s and 40s. The same weekend last year, the region saw temperatures far below freezing.
“If it lasted longer, we might have gone to a hotel. We couldn’t stay with the temperature inside the house in the 40s or 50s,” said Susan Stacey.
As it was, though, it was “uncomfortable but not unbearable,” Ms. Stacey said.
Laura Ferguson, 41, was less sanguine on the situation.
“It’s freezing in here,” she said at her house, adding that she also had no hot water or ability to cook.
The company and local emergency management provided three “warming stations” in Donora and Carroll, but Mr. Gierczynski said at midday Sunday that they had “no takers.” The Donora warming station, at the municipal building, had become more of a “command center,” he said.
Ms. Ferguson had an explanation: “What is the point of going somewhere? You need to be here if [repair workers] come.”
If no adults were home when technicians came to restore service, they would leave a note for the residents to reschedule.
Ms. Ferguson also worried that she might get stuck with the bill if her pipes froze and burst overnight before her service was restored.
“Columbia Gas would cover the cost of repairs for a burst pipe related to the outage,” Mr. Gierczynski said. “However, freezing pipes have not been an issue since temperatures have been above freezing.”
Keith Mullen and Tasha Grayson, 52 and 34, respectively, were much happier with the company’s response.
“They did a really good job in a timely fashion,” Ms. Grayson said.
Mr. Mullen was impressed by the lengths Columbia Gas had gone to; the technician who repaired their service had driven “five hours out of Ohio,” he said.
According to Mr. Gierczynski, the company brought in teams from Ohio, Maryland, Virginia and all over Pennsylvania.
Sandee Keith, 72, agreed with Mr. Mullen and Ms. Grayson.
“It’s a little bit chilly,” she said, but if it was really bad, “I would have [gone] to my grandson’s in Belle Vernon.”
For Nancy Moody, owner of The Station convenience store, the shutoff was something of an opportunity.
“We always have food, but we have way more out,” she said, and store employees put a sign on the street advertising, “We have food!”
To its standard pizza and hot dogs, the store added chili, burgers and haluski.
“We run all electric,” Ms. Moody explained.
The Station’s next-door partner business, Hobo’s Moonshine, also could help people stay warm, Ms. Moody said.
“If they’re really cold, they can come and get a shot of moonshine,” she said.
Mr. Gierczynski said Sunday evening that restoration was advancing smoothly, with more than 40 percent of the work completed by 8 p.m., and that the company still expected to complete restoration of service sometime Monday. Customers would not face any additional charges related to the outage, he said.
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, spokesman Dan Tobin said.
A fourth warming station that was located in the Charleroi Fire Department was closed.
Columbia Gas will provide updates on its Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Christopher Huffaker: 412-263-1724, chuffaker@post-gazette.com, or @huffakingit. Andrew Goldstein contributed.
First Published: January 6, 2019, 11:22 p.m.
Updated: January 6, 2019, 11:24 p.m.
