WEST BLOOMFIELD, N.Y. — Days after a high-pressure gas pipeline ruptured in West Bloomfield, neighbors are still asking questions and expressing concern about future incidents.

What You Need To Know

  • A natural gas pipeline ruptured in an area east of Pond Road on Saturday, June 26

  • Neighbors say there was a loud, roaring sound and their houses shook

  • Now, they are expressing concerns over the future safety of the entire pipeline

  • The company that runs the pipeline says the incident is under investigation

“Suddenly the garage started shaking, the doors were shaking," said Nancy Chwiecko of West Bloomfield. "It felt like something had hit into the house and there was an explosive sound, very, very loud. It sounded just like an explosion. It sounded like an airplane had crashed and then a loud roaring sound started immediately following that.”

Chwiecho is recapturing the moment a natural gas pipeline ruptured less than a mile from her home.

“We looked out the back window of the garage, over in this distance over here, and there was a plume of smoke that rose up about 400-500 feet and it looked like smoke," she said. "We know later that it was really the debris from the explosion.”

Shortly after, Chwiecho and her brother got on ATVs to find out what happened and discovered the scene where the gas pipeline ruptured.

West Bloomfield Volunteer Fire Department posted a picture of the ruptured pipeline that night. Kinder Morgan, the operator of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline, confirmed the pipeline failed Saturday, adding there was no fire, no injuries or customers impacted from the rupture at this time.

“It’s scary," said Chwiecko. "So it’s a combination of emotions that I feel about it, but I’m very unsettled, very rattled by it."

The couple is digging for information about the incident and pipeline because it crosses about 2,000 feet of their property, and they cross it daily for walks.

“It’s very important to use that the investigation into what happened is transparent,” said Rich Tannen of West Bloomfield.

The couple also wants the pipeline company to reach out to them directly and create a notification system for people living nearby the pipeline in the event something happens again.

“The whole pipeline structural integrity is in question," said Tannen. "It’s in doubt because if this could happen in that one particular spot, until we know why it happened there, we believe it could happen anywhere along the line."

The company operating the pipeline says regulatory agencies have been notified, the gas flow has been stopped in that part of the pipeline and they’re investigating the cause of the rupture.

Kinder Morgan released this statement on the incident:

"At approximately 8:55 p.m. CT on June 26, 2021, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, L.L.C. (TGP) confirmed a pipeline failure on the TGP system near the Town of West Bloomfield, Ontario County, New York in an isolated area east of Pond Road. There was no fire and there are no injuries. There are no customer impacts at this time. The company stopped gas flow to the impacted pipeline segment, mobilized resources and secured the area. Appropriate regulatory agencies were notified, and an investigation into the cause of the release is underway."