LAS CRUCES - Usually, Gas Workers are honored March 18th. It’s the date of a horrific school explosion in New London, Texas, in 1937. An estimated 300 people died. The New London school board had canceled their natural gas contract for the school and had plumbers tap into a residue gas line for “raw” or “wet” natural gas…because it was less expensive.
The annual salute to Las Cruces Utilities gas workers is to honor them for their day-in-and-day-out safe gas distribution to residents of Las Cruces — even during the COVID-19 crisis.
The COVID pandemic has rolled over regular routines and plenty of special events. Even at LCU, the Gas Workers Day recognition of 52 gas utility workers was postponed to June.
“But we still wanted to make sure that our gas workers are recognized for their efforts,” explained Lucio Garcia, Gas deputy director. “Instead of providing lunch where we all get together and remember why our jobs are so vital, we had to make sure we were distanced and in small groups. But food is still a way to celebrate, even if we’re eating from to-go containers and six feet apart.”
Natural gas is an amazing and useful fuel but, in its raw state, it is both odorless and colorless. Gas safety measures now include the addition of the recognizable sulfur smell that alerts customers to a gas leak. In 1937 in New London, students and teachers could not smell the gas filling the crawlspace under the school. The spark that triggered the explosion was thought to be from an electric sander.
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“That disaster led to the widespread odorization of natural gas and an increased emphasis on safety,” explained LCU Director Jorge Garcia, P.E. “Safety is the most important thing when it comes to working with something so intrinsic to our lives. Continued training and staying up-to-date with codes are what our crews do as a natural part of their careers.”
If you ever smell the familiar, sulfur rotten egg smell, or just a strong smell around your gas meter or near your natural gas appliances, give Utilities Emergency Dispatch a cal,l day or night, at 575-526-0500.
LCU can be reached at 575-528-3500 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. LCU provides services to approximately 100,000 Las Cruces residents and businesses.
Keep reading:
- Las Cruces Utilities: 'Really, you have a water leak!'
- Conditional hiring now underway at Las Cruces Utilities
- Good time to sign up for natural gas in Talavera neighborhoods
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July 19, 2020 at 12:26AM
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Las Cruces Utilities honors gas workers - Las Cruces Sun-News
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