Central Hudson looks into what ignited natural gas release that triggered giant fire in East Fishkill
Service has been restored to most customers.
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Central Hudson officials said Wednesday they are coming closer to determining the exact cause of a giant gas fire that shut down business and life along Route 82 on Tuesday afternoon.
Reached by phone Wednesday morning, company spokesperson Joe Jenkins told News 12 that Central Hudson utility workers were doing maintenance at a pressure regulator station behind homes on Crest Court Tuesday afternoon when the natural gas system became over-pressured, triggering a safety valve that released gas from the system.
It was just as the gas was being released, Jenkins said, that something ignited the gas, which then burnt overhead power lines.
About 4,000 Central Hudson electricity customers and 500 gas customers were affected.
Service has been restored to most customers.
Utility workers were on scene most of Wednesday trying to determine what ignited the gas.
"Once a determination is made, we'll take a look at policies and procedures to make sure that this type of situation doesn't repeat," Jenkins said.
Police evacuated several homes and businesses including Joe's Dairy Bar and Grill on Route 82.
Owner Steve Storino, his staff and customers are curious about how the fire started and how Central Hudson plans to prevent similar incidents in the future.
"I hope Central Hudson finds out what happened because that was really, really, really scary," Storino said. "When I actually came back at night, this place was like a ghost town. Peoples' food was actually left on the tables."
"It definitely needs to be figured out," dairy bar employee Sue McGibney said. "It was scary because you (I) didn't know what was going on."
Jenkins said no nearby homes were damaged and no civilians were hurt, though one firefighter was injured; that firefighter is expected to fully recover.
East Fishkill police are conducting the police investigation.
