Jul 8, 2013 2 min read

Vantage Energy and the state Department of Environmental Protection are investigating the cause of a fire Thursday near a company well site along Six Run Road in Gilmore Township.

The company, in a statement issued Monday, said it was notified of the fire at its Sandy Rock pad site about 10:20 a.m. No company personnel were at the site but were dispatched to the site immediately.

Company employees found fire had erupted from a piece of equipment referred to as a “separator.” The well was shut in and the fire was extinguished, the company said. No one was injured.

John Poister, DEP spokesman, said a final report on the fire has not yet been completed. However, the agency believes a 2-inch line leading to the separator and a distance away from the well head ruptured, apparently after the walls of the line were worn through by sand inside the line.

This caused a fire that burned for about one or two hours. The blowout of the line did not damage the well but did shatter the windows on contractor’s equipment that was nearby, he said.

Poister said an estimated 2 million cubic feet of gas escaped. The well, which went into production May 15, produces about 7 million cubic feet of gas a day.

Firefighters called to the scene set up a safety perimeter around the ruptured line. They didn’t initially fight the fire at the separator because of safety concerns regarding the presence of high-pressure lines. Once it was determined to be safe, firefighters entered the site to extinguish some rubber matting that was still burning.