Mar 4, 2014 1 min read

I noted one of the poll questions on the Observer-Reporter website asked if we need a local, highly-trained response team in the event of another fire at a natural gas well.

It took 10 hours to get the team to the Dunkard well fire Feb. 11, and over 10 days to extinguish the blaze, and a few more after that to cap the two wells.

If there was a local team, we could have saved 10 hours over a 10-plus day time frame. How much is 10 hours worth? Major oil and gas firms contract this out and have very high insurance requirements covering liability for errors and releases beyond the event, plus top-of-the-line safety and environmental programs and some level of public relations training, which a local firm must measure up to. Any local response team must meet and accept these requirements and be well trained. This is not a sideline or a part-time job for these firms.

George Dawes

Washington