Firefighters Attend Natural Gas Fire Safety Training

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Natural gas utility Black Hills Energy conducted natural gas fire safety training last week in O'Neill for volunteer firefighters from O'Neill and nearby fire departments.

More than 40 firefighters from O'Neill and other communities in their mutual aid group participated in the natural gas education and safety training session led by Black Hills Energy's natural gas operations trainers. The training provided firefighters the opportunity to practice techniques to effectively contain and extinguish actual natural gas fires under controlled circumstances.

“Natural gas has an excellent safety record, and fires are rare,” said Don Nordell, operations manager for Black Hills Energy. “The best way to learn the traits of natural gas and gain experience in fighting a natural gas fire is during a training exercise like this.”

Black Hills Energy has offered fire safety training for firefighters throughout Nebraska and the other states the company serves.

“We work closely with emergency responders at municipal, county and state levels,” Nordell said, “and this training is another way we encourage and develop the close ties and teamwork it takes to successfully manage a natural gas incident.”

In one exercise, firefighters use fire hoses and chemical extinguishers to put out a controlled natural gas fire fed by a pipe leading under an old automobile. The result simulates the potential outcome when a car strikes a gas meter. Simulated pipeline punctures and other sources of natural gas fires were also created.   

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