More than 200 firefighters from the Portland Fire Department will be better prepared to respond to a natural gas emergency after participating in recent safety training sessions with workers from Unitil’s gas division.
Unitil, a provider of electricity and natural gas to customers in New England, led approximately 20 training sessions at the city’s fire stations on Congress Street and at the Portland International Jetport in February and March as part of the company’s efforts to maintain strong partnerships with local first responders and ensure that firefighters are properly trained in the event of an emergency.
The training covered a variety of topics related to the properties of natural gas and key safety precautions, including an overview of the city’s gas system, regulator stations, Unitil’s emergency response procedures, responses to odor complaints and third-party damage, and damage prevention efforts.
The Portland Fire Department is the largest in Unitil’s natural gas service territories, which serve 97,600 customers in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
“It’s important for gas utilities to train with local fire departments to ensure a coordinated and effective response in the event of a gas emergency. Establishing clear protocols and understanding each agency’s roles and responsibilities helps us develop a robust emergency response plan,” Unitil External Affairs Director Alec O’Meara said. “Engaging in joint training exercises with fire personnel allows all of us to enhance our ability to protect lives, property, and critical infrastructure. We appreciate the time that members of the Portland Fire Department took out of their busy schedules to participate in these training sessions.”
Unitil offers gas training to fire departments throughout its service territories annually with additional outreach throughout the year.
The recent training was provided by Mark Dupuis, Unitil’s director of Gas System and Transmission Operations, and Kyle Bennett, supervisor of Technical Training and Quality Management.
Portland Fire Capt. Royal Edgerly III, who works in the fire department’s Training Division, said the training offered critical information for both safety and general knowledge. “This is another example of the Portland Fire Department working cohesively with public utilities to keep all of our citizens safe,” he said.
Since the department treats every call as an emergency, he said crews always maintain a heightened alert level when responding to reports of a gas odor or other gas-related call.
“We train our crews to handle these types of calls and provide the needed equipment to ensure the citizens of Portland are safe. Unitil employees, however, are the experts in natural gas. We were excited to have the opportunity to bring them to teach our 200-plus firefighters to ensure they had the latest information and strategies to mitigate any potential hazard we may face,” he said. “The information was well-received, and our firefighters are now better trained with the knowledge gained to collaborate with Unitil if an emergency arises. Some of this training was a review for some of our members, but the first opportunity to learn directly from Unitil professionals for many of our members. Everyone came out of the class learning something new.”
Edgerly said the department was pleased to learn that Unitil recently completed work on its System Upgrade for Reliable Energy (SURE) project, a major 14-year natural gas distribution system modernization effort in the Portland and Westbrook areas that has created a safer and more reliable system to meet the region’s growing energy demands. The underground utility project involved replacing as many as 126 miles of cast iron pipes – some of which were more than 100 years old – and unprotected steel pipes with state-of-the-art, high density plastic pipe along with additional distribution pipe upgrades.
According to Edgerly, the SURE project has already made a difference in terms of gas-related calls.
“We have noticed a significant decrease in calls for service due to the odor of gas in the street and storm drains, a direct benefit of this completed work,” he said.
Photo Captions
Kyle Bennett, supervisor of Technical Training and Quality Management at Unitil, highlights the warning signs of a natural gas leak as part of Unitil’s gas safety training sessions offered to fire departments in the company’s service territories.
