Oct 25, 2006 By Patty Yauger 3 min read

VANDERBILT – A second blanket was needed by about 300 Vanderbilt area residents Monday night into Tuesday as gas company crews were forced shut off their heating source to make line repairs. The Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania customers awoke Tuesday to find a flier on their door letting them know that service had been temporarily discontinued or a company employee knocking to gain entrance to indoor meters throughout the early morning hours as other gas company workers searched for the cause of the problem.

Gas company spokesman Matt Pitzarella said that several customers notified the company late Tuesday of “low gas pressure.”

Insufficient pressure, he said, indicates that the gas is no longer burning at the furnace and creating a backlog of gas passing through the heating system.

Sometime before 10 p.m., gas company personnel were alerted to a call to Fayette County 911 of a furnace explosion at a First Street residence.

Kevin Logan, DL&V Fire Co. rescue captain said that no one in the home was injured.

The small explosion caused a rear panel to disengage from the furnace, said Pitzarella.

Throughout the day Uniontown Salvation Army captains Christopher and Jennifer Blessings operated makeshift restaurant in the social hall area of the DL&V fire hall, offering coffee and hot chocolate along with a variety of breakfast foods to any local resident, firefighter or gas company worker.

Space heaters, also provided by the organization, kept the large room warm for anyone that stopped by the fire hall.

“We’ll be here for the duration,” said Jennifer Blessings. “We’ll be providing lunch and dinner, if necessary.”

Very few people took advantage of the no-cost warm accommodations or food, which Pitzarella attributed to residents going to work or school or using electric space heaters.

“They should have had sufficient hot water to take their showers and then just went about their day,” he said.

By noon, gas company crews had located the source of the obstruction, some distance from where the small explosion had taken place.

The blockage was found on a private property near Cemetery Road in Vanderbilt.

“(The blockage) could have been from some material in the line, but it is hard to say at this time,” said Pitzarella. “There are some other natural gas wells in the area that may have contributed to the problem.”

Crews exposed the gas line and then rerouted the fuel through a temporary secondary plastic line around the blockage.

By late afternoon, oxygen that might have collected in the lines was purged and gas company workers began to reopen lines to the homes.

“We’ll go in to each home, light the pilot light of their furnace and make sure all of their appliances are operating properly,” said Pitzarella.

Pitzarella speculated that all customers would have their gas turned on by 10 p.m. with those with special needs, the elderly and families with young children first to be reconnected to the gas service.

“It was an inconvenience, but there were no injuries or property damage and everyone was safe,” said Pitzarella.