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Important information:
School safety and emergency preparedness |
| Dear Superintendent, Principal, Custodial Personnel or Building/Grounds Director, please share this pipeline safety information with your staff, facilities managers and contractors. |
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| Make natural gas leak recognition and response part
of your school’s emergency response plan. |
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| Ensure that you and your staff know how to identify a gas leak and what to do in response. Review your school emergency response and evacuation plans, and be sure they include the following procedures for recognizing and responding to a natural gas leak. |
| Recognizing a gas leak |
| Be alert for any of the following: |
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A distinctive sulfur-like odor |
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Important: Don’t rely only on your sense of smell alone; the odor may fade or the gas may not be odorized. |
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A hissing, roaring or whistling sound from the ground or gas equipment |
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Dirt blowing into the air from a hole in the ground |
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Continuous bubbling in water |
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| Responding to a gas leak |
| If you suspect a gas leak: |
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DO NOT use matches, lighters, radios or anything electrical – even a phone. |
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Take your suspicion seriously. |
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Evacuate everyone immediately. |
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Gather outdoors at a safe location (far from the possible leak and upwind). |
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Call 911 and National Grid at the emergency number in your area listed below. |
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Keep everyone far from the leak until emergency response personnel inform you that the premises are safe. |
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| Learn the location of natural gas pipelines in your area. |
| High-visibility markers with National Grid’s 24-hour emergency phone number indicate the general location of our high-pressure natural gas pipelines. |
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| These markers are meant only
as a general guide and warning and do not mark a pipeline’s precise location or depth. You
can also locate pipelines in your area by visiting the National Pipeline Mapping System
website at https://pvnpms.phmsa.dot.gov/PublicViewer. |
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| Help protect natural gas pipelines. |
| The greatest risk to gas pipelines is accidental damage from digging activities. Even the slightest damage could lead to a catastrophic fire
or explosion. Review these pipeline damage prevention guidelines: |
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Call 811 before you dig. This free service will arrange for marking of buried natural gas pipelines in your dig area. |
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Massachusetts and Rhode Island: Call at least 72 hours before digging (excluding weekends and legal holidays). |
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New York: Call at least two full working days before digging (excluding the date of your call, weekends and legal holidays). |
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Respect the marks and dig with care.
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Leave gas pipeline markers in place until digging is completed. |
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Note: Buried gas pipelines will be identified with yellow flags, stakes or paint marks. |
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Use only hand tools within the “tolerance zone.” |
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Massachusetts and Rhode Island: 18 inches of either side of the marked location of buried utilities |
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New York: Within the width of a marked utility plus 24 inches from each indicated outside edge |
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Report any pipeline contact immediately to National Grid at the natural gas emergency phone numbers listed below. |
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Note: Buried gas pipelines will be identified with yellow flags, stakes or paint marks. |
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| National Grid’s underground pipelines deliver natural gas efficiently and reliably to schools,
homes and businesses across New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. To ensure the
safe operation of these pipelines, we: |
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Monitor our gas operations around the clock |
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Inspect pipelines regularly for leaks, defects and corrosion |
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Educate the public about safe digging practices |
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Conduct training and periodic drills with emergency responders to prevent and
prepare for natural gas emergencies |
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