Critics Keep Heat on Peoples Gas

By: Paul F. CuadrosMore than a year has passed since the night skies over River West turned red from fires and gas explosions. But for those who lived through the disaster, the scars remain.

"The ripple effect of this has been enormous," said Ann Hoenig, whose son Stephen, 19, was killed in the Jan. 17, 1992 blast along with photographer Alan Bass, 40, and makeup artist Victoria Opeka, 31. Frances Kosiba, 75, died 12 days later. "Hundreds of lives have been affected irreparably," Hoenig said. "My life will never be the same. Nothing positive has come out of this.

"The extent of the devastation can never be realized unless you've gone through it."

The explosions were triggered by a gas surge that occurred while gas workers were doing routine maintenance at Erie and Green streets. One chapter in the tragedy ended on Jan. 5, when the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that Peoples Gas Light and Coke Co. had failed to prepare its workers for emergency situations like River West. In May, an investigation by The Chicago Reporter revealed flaws in the utility's training program and emergency operating plan.

"We disagree strongly with the conclusions" of the Safety Board report, said Peoples Gas attorney Matthew A. Greene.

Although the Safety Board has completed its inquiry, Cook County State's Attorney Jack O'Malley and utility watchdogs are pressing the Illinois Commerce Commission to investigate Peoples Gas' training requirements, facilities and distribution system.

"We now have a federal agency that is saying the training is inadequate," said O'Malley spokesman Andy Knott. "Somebody needs to follow up on that, and we think that should be the ICC."

On Feb. 26, O'Malley asked the commission to determine whether other Chicago neighborhoods, specifically Hegewisch, Norridge and Hyde Park, have gas systems similar to River West.

"The overall maintenance of the Peoples Gas system has been a problem for over 20 years," said Lois Anne Rosen, executive director of the Labor Coalition on Public Utilities, which first asked for an ICC investigation in 1982.

On June 11, an ICC hearing examiner also recommended an investigation. But utility officials told the commission they of and had upgraded its systems in parts of the three neighborhoods and that an investigation was no longer necessary.

The commission will study the Safety Board's report before deciding.

What Julie Haran-King remembers most about the aftermath of the accident is the $1,200 gas bill she received. Peoples Gas was "hounding us with bills for six months," she said, even though the apartment building she owns at 1120 W. Chestnut St. was gutted after the accident.

And Haran-King's young daughters are "a little apprehensive about moving back," after repairs are completed, she said. "They want to know if there are going to be other fires."

The Safety Board concluded that the accident could have been prevented or contained if gas supervisor Gerald Best had closed a gas valve instead of waiting nearly 40 minutes for his superiors to give him permission.

The Safety Board's investigation found that Peoples Gas "appeared to be training its employees in accomplishing the normal tasks," said spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz. "But the board did not see training in abnormal situations."

The Safety Board recommended that Peoples Gas "clearly instruct employees on how to recognize and eliminate or reduce a threat to public safety."

On Oct. 14, Peoples Gas promised the Safety Board that gas workers "will be trained in responding to emergencies," according to the board's final report. The utility also said it would modify its inspection practices to cut down on the potential for accidents and design new equipment to meet the Safety Board's criteria.

Both the ICC and the U.S. Department of Transportation can enforce the board's recommendations.

In June, the Reporter revealed that the emergency plan did not outline how to handle an over-pressure incident and relied instead on the expertise of Peoples Gas supervisors. The plan "left something to be desired," Lopatkiewicz said.

Peoples Gas failed to revise its emergency plan after a June 1989 incident in Hegewisch, when workers accidentally cut a gas line and flooded homes with gas. Peoples Gas did not report the incident to state and federal authorities.

But Lopatkiewicz said the lessons learned from Hegewisch "would not have prompted Peoples Gas to make changes that would have affected River West" because the accidents had different causes.

The Labor Coalition disagrees. If Peoples Gas had revised its training manuals, "that simple change could have prevented the River West accident," Rosen said.

Ann Hoenig does not blame Gerald Best for her son's death. "My hope is that one person doesn't get crucified for this because one person doesn't run a utility company," she said. "If they have a system with no checks and balances, it's a faulty system."

Hoenig's wrongful death lawsuit against Peoples Gas is pending in Cook County Circuit Court.

Whenever Hoenig and other survivors hear fire engines or smoke alarms, they feel panic. "Who's going to make these people whole again?" she asks. "The gas company says it's not their problem. I wish there was a public forum to bring the gas company to task for this."

Intern Clara Jeffery helped research this article.