Why you should call before you dig.

[Snow]

You think he would have been made aware of it at some point in time.
I would expect to be informed about that if I was buying a house...

"Inground pool, finished basement, annnnnnnd as an added bonus FIREBALL CARRYING PIPELINE OF DEATH!"

In all seriousness I'm surprised that the previous owners aren't required by law to disclose this... and that they should be informed when purchasing the property etc.

A lot of people could have been hurt in that, never mind the hours of the FD and the company having to repair the pipeline... the lost fuel, etc.

It also didn't look like it was that deep (however, who can really tell with a crater that size) and I mean, it couldn't have been that deep if he was drilling for a fence post.

I think particularly in the case of hazardous materials as such, notification should be given... as some people are too stupid to call before they dig.

EDIT: Or maybe the current system supports natural selection... lol

[CanadianGTR]

Honestly though... I wouldn't have thought twice about it.
You're living on what appears to be a farm size property... and you want to put a fence post in. I would have probably done the same thing thinking that anything SERIOUS like a pipeline of doom would be buried a little deeper.

In that sort of place not much is buried anyway, telecom/power is likely overhead... he probably just made sure he wasn't drilling into his septic tank and then went ahead and did it. Guaranteed 90% of the people on here would have done the same.

"No telecom/electrical? I'm on a well/septic tank. I'm own my own gas... so no gas lines... we're good to go" *drill drill drill*

POOF

[PopolZ]

that must've been a hell of a flame thrower

[tamiya_s2000]

call me dirty n all
but the 2nd pic looks like a giant female body organ lol

[love_boost]

wow i am officailly scared to fence more pasture with my dad.
thats really weird though, i wonder how deep he was pounding in that fence pole, they should be burried deep enough (6-7ft) and i know you dont pound a post in that deep.

[PopolZ]

http://www.snopes.com/photos/accident/gasmain.asp

http://www.newsadvance.com/lna/news/local/article/a_view_from_above_appomattox_pipeline_explosion/8689/

http://www.wset.com/news/stories/1208/578141_video.html?ref=newsstory

[Neski]

i want flames coming out of my exhaust that does the same kinda damage....

kidding *hides*

[Shadao]

he should have used a clam shell digger... rather than an cheap, clutchless auger... i bet if he had been using an auger with a clutch the moment it would have hit the pip the auger would have stopped and not been able to penetrate the pipe... which is another thing...

shouldnt such a pipe be strong enough to withstand an auger?

[love_boost]

from what popolz posted it had nothing to do with pounding in a fence post.

honestly fence post's dont go that deep, i think maybe 2-3 feet in the ground

[Snow]

he should have used a clam shell digger... rather than an cheap, clutchless auger... i bet if he had been using an auger with a clutch the moment it would have hit the pip the auger would have stopped and not been able to penetrate the pipe... which is another thing...

shouldnt such a pipe be strong enough to withstand an auger?

from what popolz posted it had nothing to do with pounding in a fence post.

honestly fence post's dont go that deep, i think maybe 2-3 feet in the ground

The line had corroded. Others had done the same, but testing showed this one was in better condition so they postponed the repairs. There testing was inaccurate, and margin of error too large. The pipe burst all on its own.

BUT the moral of the story is... you COULD have hit that pipe if you were digging, and didn't call first.