Gas Well Problems in Marshall County
Spark Questions

BY: STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Jul 27, 2010 — WEST VIRGINIA, USA (WTOV9.COM) — Gas field problems near New Vrindaban.

Two recent gas well problems have emergency officials in Marshall County concerned about how to keep the public safe from potential hazards. An explosion in June and a leak over the weekend has gas well safety at the top of the priority list for the Emergency Management Agency in Marshall County.

Marshall County's Emergency Management Director Tom Hart said they've made changes to their response since the gas well explosion in June. He said they're working to develop a relationship with the companies to improve responses in the future.

Emergency officials said they keep up with the quickly expanding gas well drilling sites by planning training for firefighters and meeting with the drilling companies.

Hart said he thinks they've done well responding to emergencies, but agrees there is room to learn and improve. If there is a problem, crews have already tightened up response time to call utilities and get relief in for first responders.

"We have to look at everything in that all hazards approach and what we do, is that when we do have something, we go back and look," Hart said. "What went right, what may have went wrong, then we try to correct those situations."

Read the complete story with video here.