TransCanada investigates gas pipeline fire

TransCanada says it's looking into what may have caused a natural gas pipeline fire that sent a large fireball into the sky south of the Canada-U.S. border in Minnesota on Saturday 5 September.

The fireball lit up the night sky on Saturday after a fire broke out in the yard of the St. Vincent Compressor Station in Kittson County, Minnesota.

No injuries were reported, but a few homes in Dominion City, Man., were evacuated on Saturday night as a precaution. Residents were allowed back in their homes a short time later.

A company source says it’s not known what caused the fire, but all valves had been shut off as they were supposed to be.

"We basically isolated the entire station, shut it down, isolated the valves and ensured that there was no more gas flowing into the facility," the spokesperson said.v

The incident has not interrupted gas service for TransCanada customers in the Great Lakes Gas Transmission system, according to the company.

TransCanada said that the pipeline provides natural gas to several communities in the area and there were no gas service interruptions.

The St. Vincent Compressor Station is used to control gas volumes received from the TransCanada Pipeline at Emerson, the company said.

Edited from various sources by Elizabeth Corner

Sources: CBC, Grand Forks Herald

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/equipment-and-safety/08092015/transcanada-investigates-gas-pipeline-fire/