Cause of gas leak remains unknown
Julie Williams
Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: News
A gas leak Friday morning at LaHarpe and High Streets left Truman running on an alternate fuel source for the afternoon.
Fire Chief Randy Behrens said the Kirksville Fire Department was dispatched shortly after 8:30 Friday morning to the site of the break in the gas line and stood by while Atmos Energy shut down the line so it could be repaired.
"As soon as they shut it down, they deemed it safe enough to leave, so we left," Behrens said.
Steve Green, manager of public affairs for Atmos Energy, said he still is unsure why exactly the line broke, though he said it might have stemmed from a broken well.
"This time of year, when it's cold and the ground is frozen ... with frost, it might go up and down and that sort of thing," Green said. "It must have been a weak well, possibly. We don't know for sure."
Green said the break occurred in a six-inch-thick steel line that served the University and that because the University has its own standby system, Atmos was able to shut the line down without interrupting service to campus.
"We had it repaired by late afternoon, and they were able to switch back to natural gas," he said.
Physical Plant Director Karl Schneider said Truman has two underground fuel tanks beneath the Violette Hall parking lot that can provide fuel to the main boilers for only about five days during cold weather.
"We use it when the gas is cut off for whatever reason," Schneider said. "Sometimes the supplier will have to do maintenance on their lines, so they'll have a gas outage sometimes."
The tanks are filled with No. 2 fuel oil, which Schneider said is similar to diesel fuel. He said the University usually only has to rely on the tanks about once a year.
"It's quite a bit more expensive than natural gas," he said. "That's why we don't use it very often."
Schneider said the presence of backup fuel tanks on college campuses is fairly common and that these tanks have been in place at the University since the campus has run on gas as a primary fuel.
Fire Chief Randy Behrens said the Kirksville Fire Department was dispatched shortly after 8:30 Friday morning to the site of the break in the gas line and stood by while Atmos Energy shut down the line so it could be repaired.
"As soon as they shut it down, they deemed it safe enough to leave, so we left," Behrens said.
Steve Green, manager of public affairs for Atmos Energy, said he still is unsure why exactly the line broke, though he said it might have stemmed from a broken well.
"This time of year, when it's cold and the ground is frozen ... with frost, it might go up and down and that sort of thing," Green said. "It must have been a weak well, possibly. We don't know for sure."
Green said the break occurred in a six-inch-thick steel line that served the University and that because the University has its own standby system, Atmos was able to shut the line down without interrupting service to campus.
"We had it repaired by late afternoon, and they were able to switch back to natural gas," he said.
Physical Plant Director Karl Schneider said Truman has two underground fuel tanks beneath the Violette Hall parking lot that can provide fuel to the main boilers for only about five days during cold weather.
"We use it when the gas is cut off for whatever reason," Schneider said. "Sometimes the supplier will have to do maintenance on their lines, so they'll have a gas outage sometimes."
The tanks are filled with No. 2 fuel oil, which Schneider said is similar to diesel fuel. He said the University usually only has to rely on the tanks about once a year.
"It's quite a bit more expensive than natural gas," he said. "That's why we don't use it very often."
Schneider said the presence of backup fuel tanks on college campuses is fairly common and that these tanks have been in place at the University since the campus has run on gas as a primary fuel.
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