Drilling crews hit gas line at Betz Elementary School

Crews doing site preparation work struck a natural gas line at Betz Elementary School last Wednesday afternoon, forcing evacuation of the few number of school staff present in the building at the time.

The incident, which happened around 1:40 p.m., came about when a crew from Geo Engineers struck a one-and-a-half-inch high pressure gas line feeding the school building. Cheney Fire Department Capt. Ken Johnson said the few Betz staff that were in the building, mainly custodial, were evacuated, and that residents along North Sixth Street next to the school were advised to shelter in place.

An audible hissing could be heard and the smell of natural gas was very prevalent in the high school parking lot to the north. Avista Utility crews responded, along with school district personnel and Cheney Police, and assisted by Cheney fire personnel were able to locate the line.

Avista personnel then dug a three-foot deep hole in the alleyway between Betz and the North Sixth residences to access the line and clamp it shut, capping the leak around 2:15 p.m. Avista communication specialist David Vowels said Betz was the only customer affected, and once the leak was repaired, the meter at the building was shutoff for safety reasons.

"Our crew returned the following day, when someone was present, and restored service to the school," Vowels added.

Vowels said he was not equipped to answer what communication about existing utilities may have occurred prior to Geo Engineers drilling at the site, but added that Avista was not notified of any "locate" request.

In an email, however, the school district's director of maintenance and operations, Jeff McClure said that Geo Engineers did do a utility locate on Aug. 8, and showed that report to Avista after the incident. According to the report, all boring locations were marked in white paint.

"Pretty sure it's still being investigated," McClure added.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].