Please help us improve our safety tips to meet your training needs. Take our two-minute survey.

Five steps for safe demolition or renovation

Before starting any demolition, deconstruction or significant renovation projects including building elevation or additions, take these five steps to ensure your job proceeds as safely as possible:

1. Call National Grid
Do NOT begin the job until National Grid has shut off the gas and electric service, disconnected the gas service lateral at the main or property line, and removed gas meters and regulators. For service disconnects, call these numbers:

• Massachusetts: 1-800-233-5325 (gas),1-800-322-3223 (electric)
• Rhode Island: 1-800-870-1664 (gas), 1-800-322-3223 (electric)
• Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island: 1-718-643-4050 (gas)
• Long Island: 1-800-930-5003 (gas)
• Upstate New York: 1-800-642-4272 (gas and electric)

2. Obtain a Service Line Disconnect Letter
Once the gas and electric service has been disconnected, National Grid will provide a Service Line Disconnect Letter confirming this fact. The local building/permitting department may ask to see this letter before issuing a permit. Do NOT begin work until you or the property owner have a copy of this letter.

After utility service has been disconnected, safe digging practices continue to be critical. Even minor damage to temporarily disconnected gas service lines can result in gas leaks when service is restored, threatening fire, explosion and loss of life and property.

3. Notify 811 before you dig
If the job involves digging or moving earth in any way – such as removing footings, foundations or tree stumps – state law requires you to call 811 or enter an online request at least 72 hours before digging in Massachusetts and Rhode Island (excluding weekends and legal holidays) and at least two full working days in New York (excluding the day you call and weekends and legal holidays).

• Massachusetts and Rhode Island: digsafe.com
• Upstate New York: digsafelynewyork.com
• Metro New York, Long Island and the Rockaways: newyork-811.com

The 811 center will notify member underground facility owners in the immediate area, so the location of buried utility lines can be marked prior to excavation. The 811 center can also inform you about additional notification and onsite meetings that may be required for demolition projects in your state. For example, New York state law requires that you request a pre-demolition conference through 811 at least seven days before work begins with all member operators who have underground facilities at or
near your demolition site.

4. Survey the site for hazards
Before work begins, conduct a visual inspection of the structure and the surrounding property:

• Confirm all utility disconnects. If utility disconnects are required, double check to make sure the electric and natural gas meters and the electric service drop wire have been removed from the structure. Also confirm that the gas service has been disconnected from the gas source.
  
• Look for power lines, poles, guy wires and pad-mounted equipment remaining on or near the job site. Assume all power lines are energized, and mark a safety boundary to keep people, tools and vehicles at least 10 feet away from them.

5. Review your emergency plan before work begins
Make sure everyone at the job site knows what to do in case of an unforeseen electric or natural gas utility contact. This is especially important for partial demolition jobs, where electric or gas service may continue to be supplied to a portion of the property.

For more contractor safety information, visit ngridsafety.com.

Smell Gas. Act Fast.