Unplanned outage leads to unexpected rescue

It was an early fall morning when the crew at our Glady Compressor Station, in West Virginia had just taken the station offline for maintenance.

"When the engines aren't running and the station is offline, we usually hear some sounds of the outdoors, that are otherwise drowned out by the operating noise," said John Burgess, a member of the team at the compressor station that helps move natural gas through the Columbia Gas Transmission system.

Instead, with the engines not running, John and another team member, Garret Paugh, heard a cry for help coming from just outside the station and knew they needed to investigate.

"From what we heard, it was apparent that someone was in distress, and we knew right away it was something we needed to check out," said Garret.

John and Garret were alongside a few other team members of the compressor station, as they sprang into action, rushing towards the cries for help. When they arrived on the scene, they found Mr. Sam Sedosky, a nearby landowner, laying injured from an apparent accident involving a lawn tractor.

"When we first found Sam, cold and unable to move, we knew he must have been trapped outside all night," said Garret. "We immediately called 911 and contacted his family to ensure Sam received the proper care he needed."

After the initial contact to 911 and the Sedosky family, the team worked collectively to help Sam until the responders arrived.  They prepared the scene for emergency responders by clearing a path of access, collected water and blankets from Sam's cabin to provide some much-needed warmth and hydration while they waited, and assisted responders in moving Sam to the ambulance.

"On behalf of my father and the rest of our family, we would like to say thank you to the crew at the Glady Compressor Station. Words cannot express our gratitude," said Timothy Sedosky, son of Mr. Sedosky. "Twenty years ago, we bought a camp just up the road from the compressor station. Since then, the women and men that have worked at the station and storage field office have always been great neighbours. TransCanada should be extremely proud of their employees at this facility". As for Sam and his family, they are just thankful that their neighbours at Glady Compressor Station were prepared to help.

"I'm always amazed by the stories I hear about our teams in the field and their willingness to step up to the plate to serve their communities. Their actions are a shining example of our values of integrity and responsibility," said John McWilliams, Vice President, U.S. Gas Operations East. "Their knowledge of first aid, and willingness to act, make their communities a safer place."

Click here to learn more about the guiding principles we use when working with our landowners across North America and to see what other landowners are saying about being neighbours with TransCanada.