What I Learned from a Gas Leak

The last few weeks have been on the cold side. That may be an understatement but that, of course, can leave water pipes in danger of bursting. (For those that don’t know yet I’m based in Virginia just outside D.C.) You can probably guess where part of this is going… You would be right if you imagined that one did burst, under my street. The water company had to wait until the temperatures warmed up before they could get in to fix it and thankfully the temperatures cooperated nicely! As with anything when there is digging the utility companies came out and marked up the road as to gas lines, electrical, etc. so that the water company could make sure they didn’t hit any lines while digging.

This did not go at all as planned as the markings for the gas line were off by 4.5 feet…(lemme guess you just cringed slightly).

I was working away (trying to come up with my latest blog post) when I ran up to get some water, and that’s when I saw all the firemen standing outside. Never a good sign. It did end up that the water company hit the gas line (because it was mismarked) and they were now dealing with a gas leak that had to be clamped off before they could finish fixing the water line. (Now one other detail… they had had issues finding the leak in the water pipe.. they also ended up having problems finding where they needed to clamp off the gas line.) In the process because of how severe gas leaks can be, and ours was not a small one, our quiet neighborhood street became lined with fire engines, hazmat units and of course an ambulance, just in case, while also shutting it down to traffic entirely. Four houses were forced to evacuate until they could get the gas shut off, ours being one of them. About four hours after everything started we were thankfully back safely in our home. However, the street is still, as I write this, shut down as they replace 85 feet of gas line. Bright side…the water pipe is fixed!)

Going through this whole process though made me think of the importance of many of the aspects I deal with daily in working with individuals and corporate clients and how important in situations like these they are. Here are a few them:
• Importance of EQ: In stressful circumstances, it is essential to stay calm and recognize that there is only so much that you can control. If you are ever in a tough situation or a situation like this where there is not much in your control, ask yourself what can I can control? For example, I recognize that my emotions and how I choose to respond (my reaction) in situations like this are the one thing that is 100% in my control. The rest of it wasn’t
• Communication: The most critical aspect of a case like this. They could have just told us to evacuate with little information. The firemen that we were lucky enough to have on our street were all very effective in their communication. They kept us posted on the progress of getting the gas off and tried to keep giving us estimates in time. They shared details with us and were honest as they recognized that it was a stressful situation outside of our control.
• Planning and Organization: In a time when something like this happens should be a priority to have a plan in place and to be organized in where you keep things. I knew I needed to grab my dog, and that as long as I had her and my purse which contained my wallet, that those were the most important things if anything was to go askew. Risking the human life to grab objects is not worth it. What would your plan be? What would be on your “most important to grab list” if you had 2-5 minutes to get out? (This has also been on my mind since being out by the wildfires that ravaged Sonoma and Napa in October)
• Attention to details: There are the times that paying attention to details is critically important and understanding when those times are versus when it is not as essential is a crucial skill to have. Ask yourself, is this a situation where the details could make or break the outcome? What happens if I miss an aspect in this case?

This was an experience that I will never forget with valuable lessons. It was also a comedy of errors as they tried to get everything back to how it should be. But I am thankful for all the men and women of the fire department that were out helping yesterday including monitoring homes for gas and ultimately giving us the all clear when we were good to go home. Until next time Y’all.

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