Photo Of Smoking Gas Line Workers Raises New Concerns In Lawrence

LAWRENCE, MA -- When Brooke Juliano looked out the kitchen window of her Lawrence home and saw a Columbia Gas worker smoking while working on the transmission line on her street, she did what a lot of people would do these days: she snapped a photo and sent it to friends on Snapchat with the caption "Columbia cares alright" and a few other choice words not fit for publication here.

The work was being done at the intersection of Newton and Salem Streets on October 6.

"There is no gas in the lines," Columbia Gas spokesperson Judy Rakowsy said. "Columbia has 4,300 people working in a 24/7 operation to get heat and hot showers restored to residents and businesses in the Merrimack Valley."

As of Thursday afternoon, Columbia Gas of Massachusetts said it had replaced 30 of the 45 miles of transmission lines and 2,618 of the service lines it needs to replace before it can restore service to all of its customers in Andover, North Andover and Lawrence. The customers have been without gas service since September 13, when over-pressurization caused a series of explosions that damaged or destroyed 131 buildings in the three communities, injured at least 24 people and killed an 18-year-old Lawrence man.

The company has about 1,400 workers working in the three companies, with those workers having come from divisions around the country.

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Photo by Brooke Juliano via Snapchat. Used with permission.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).