On Tuesday, June 28, the Mountain View Fire Department hosted a live-action joint gas safety exercise at Fire Station #4, coordinated by Pacific Gas and Electric. The exercise simulated true-to-life scenarios first responders often encounter, including a ruptured gas line and a fire in a 5-story multi-occupancy residential building. In addition to PG&E, fire crews from Santa Clara County Central Fire, Santa Clara City Fire, Sunnyvale Fire and officers from the Mountain View Police Department participated in today’s event.

The purpose of the exercise was to find areas we can improve upon during real-world events like these to achieve synchronization. Conducting and participating in exercises such as the one held today are part of our continuous improvement efforts to identify areas where we can enhance our safety practices.

PG&E and Fire crews often respond to incidents together where people did not follow safe digging protocols and punctured natural gas lines. In 2021, there were 189 incidents in Santa Clara County where underground gas lines were damaged due to digging, resulting in gas leaks. These incidents could have been avoided had 8-1-1 been called in advance to mark the location of underground utilities.