FARMINGTON — Emergency officials were working with Black Hills Energy Friday evening to extinguish a natural gas fire without cutting off gas to customers.
A car struck a natural gas riser about 3:45 p.m. near Main Street and Double Springs Road, said Rich Davis, a spokesman for Black Hills Energy. A riser is a pipe that connects a gas service line to a meter. The damaged riser was connected to a high-pressure gas line, Davis said, and the flames ignited shortly after the collision.
The identity of the driver wasn’t available. No one was transported from the scene, according to Central EMS.
Davis said the company serves about 1,500 customers in Farmington.
Davis said the company first hoped to lower the pressure in the pipeline to battle the fire. Later, after a meeting with Farmington Fire Chief Mark Cunningham, Davis said shutting the gas off without having customers lose service was the company’s “top priority.”
“We have gas and electricity at the same time, so it complicates things,” Cunningham said. “The fire itself all hinges on when the gas gets shut off. (Black Hills Energy) has to take several measures to make sure it doesn’t reignite.”
Crews were digging across the street from the blaze to find the isolation valve on the 4-inch gas line. Firefighters were spraying nearby buildings and power poles to keep things watered down until the fire was out. Dozens of onlookers stood behind caution tape and videoed the blaze with their phones.
If power is shut off, Cunningham urged residents to check on their neighbors and find an alternate heating source. The overnight temperatures were expected to be about 50. But the forecast for tonight is for single digits.
“Get toward central part of the house until (power and gas) is restored,” Cunningham said. “(Black Hills Energry) will have to come and reignite the pilot light.”
Farmington officer Chad Parrish said most of Main Street will be shut down today as officials review damage to nearby electrical lines. Traffic will be diverted to Arkansas 170, he said.
Multiple police and fire agencies responded to the blaze. John Luther, director of the Washington County emergency management department, praised the cooperation between entities.
“There’s an immediate team effort,” Luther said.
Black Hills Energy is a natural gas utility serving 429,000 customers in Arkansas, Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming, according to its website.