Washington Gas Actions Questioned in Va. Blaze

"We basically sat there and watched our house burn down while Washington Gas fumbled around not knowing what to do," Larry Stroud said.

Prince William County firefighters contained the blaze soon after arriving early May 15. Deputy Chief Andrew Frizzle said that when firefighters saw that the ground in front of the house was on fire, they knew that an underground gas line had ruptured and would continue to feed the blaze. The fire burned from just after 1 a.m. until after 5 a.m., when a Washington Gas work crew from Maryland turned off the gas to the block.

"To call it a total loss is probably an understatement," said Frizzle, who oversees two Nokesville stations.

Is this the service our increased Washington Gas rates are paying for? I hope not.

The first Washington Gas representative arrived an hour after firefighters called, about 3:15 a.m., and had to call for a work crew, Frizzle said. At that time, the closest crew was in Forestville.

"If anything, the gas company was ill-prepared," Stroud said. "The firefighters took some initiative . . . and took over."

Fire crews borrowed shovels from neighbors and began digging where the Washington Gas representative thought the gas lines were in hopes of finding the valve to shut off the gas, Frizzle said. Firefighters dug until a Washington Gas work crew arrived about 5 a.m.

"We had the personnel there, and we tried to mitigate it ourselves, and we were unsuccessful at that," Frizzle said.

Fire departments regularly call Washington Gas to shut off the gas to houses when they are unable to reach the meter, as happened at the Stroud home. Washington Gas rotates crews across the Washington area every night, and Frizzle said that it took "longer than we would normally expect" for the utility team to arrive.

Washington Gas officials said the average response time is 25 minutes. In this case, the dispatcher gave the first technician "incorrect information, which prevented him from being able to resolve the matter quickly," Washington Gas spokeswoman Kimberly Greer said in an e-mail.

"We have taken appropriate action with the individual involved and deeply regret the fact that our mistake delayed the resolution of this incident," Greer wrote.

Frizzle said that the house was probably lost before the gas leak but that because the fire burned for about five hours, the fire marshal has been unable to determine its cause.

Neighbors are concerned something similar could happen to their homes.

"As a resident here, that terrifies me," Kim Simons said. "There was nothing -- it was just a charred foundation."

The Strouds have rented a home nearby and are considering legal action.

"We don't have anything negative to say" about the firefighters, Stroud said. "With the gas company, there is genuine concern."

Outsourcing Will Slash 300 Washington Gas Jobs

So if Washington Gas is cutting 300 jobs and saving $170 million why do Washington Gas customers need pay higher rates?

Too bad Washington Gas told their employees about a year ago that they weren't looking to outsource jobs when they brought in consultants. It's kinda like the movie Office Space with the two Bobs.

I wonder what function will be axed next? Human Resources?

In a move that will eliminate 300 positions, Washington Gas Light said yesterday that it had hired an outsourcing firm to handle information technology, customer service and other back-office duties.

The natural gas company projects it will save about $170 million in capital and operational expenses over the life of the $350 million, 10-year contract with Accenture, a Bermuda-based consulting and outsourcing firm, said Washington Gas spokeswoman Kimberly Greer.

Accenture will redistribute jobs from the gas company to its many centers, including those in Springfield, Reston, Canada and the Philippines, where it plans to handle data-processing work, said Keith Mueller, managing director of Accenture business services for utilities.

Of the 300 positions to be eliminated, 50 are vacant. Employees in the remaining jobs will be offered similar jobs with Accenture, transferred to other WGL departments or let go. Those in the latter group will receive 12 weeks of severance pay and will have access to career-counseling services. The company employs 1,605 people.

Labor union representatives expressed outrage and promised to fight the cuts.

"Shipping this critical local work out of town is simply madness," said Josh Williams, president of the AFL-CIO's Metropolitan Washington Council, an umbrella group for 200 union locals. "Does anyone seriously think this work can be done better for the energy consumers of metropolitan Washington by sending it away to newly hired and newly trained staff, possibly half a world away?"

Dave Levinson, a lawyer for the Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 2, which represents about 50 of the jobs targeted for elimination, said the union would seek to block Washington Gas's request before the D.C. Public Service Commission to raise rates, arguing that the company planned to make customers pay the transition costs.

Washington Gas said it expected to pay $29 million in one-time costs over the next two fiscal years to make the change, including about $9 million in severance and benefits and $20 million in upgrades and other transaction costs. The company also will purchase $16.4 million worth of equipment and software from Accenture affiliate Proquire as part of the deal.

Greer said those costs have already been factored into the $170 million in savings the company hopes to eventually realize.

"We considered pretty much every 'what if,' and we're positive that we can work to the benefit of both parties," Greer said.