An alarm of fire is reported at a natural gas compression station located behind a residence at 3337 Lockport Road in Oakfield. The caller reported hearing a loud bang followed by the sound of the fire alarm.
Law enforcement and Oakfield Fire Department are en route.
UPDATE 9:02 p.m.: Oakfield fire on scene reports nothing showing.
UPDATE 9:04 p.m.: A National Fuel Co. rep is on scene en route, with an ETA of about 20 minutes. The other responders are staging outside the main gate.
UPDATE 9:07 p.m.: National Fuel tells dispatch that the station is programmed to automatically shut down if excess gas is present. A responder says there is excess gas pressure at the site and it is "bleeding off." Winds are blowing southwesterly at 9 mph.
UPDATE 9:15 p.m.: A key holder to the property has arrived and is being escorted into the area by a deputy. A responder says "It seems there is no power at the plant at this time."
UPDATE 9:21 p.m.: A rep from National Fuel is now on scene.
UPDATE 9:24 p.m.: A senior foreman for National Fuel is headed into the compression station.
UPDATE 9:27 p.m.: Deputies are escorting the National Fuel rep to the station and the expectation is "we'll be released shortly."
UPDATE 9:45 p.m.: The Oakfield assignment is back in service.
There is a theory going
There is a theory going around Oakfield as to what caused the big bang at the natural gas station last night , something along the lines of the whole universe was in a hot dense state, then nearly fourteen billion years ago expansion started. Wait... the Earth began to cool, the autotrophs began to drool, neanderthals developed tools, we built a wall (we built the pyramids), math, science, history, unraveling the mysteries, that all started with the big bang!