The burden of natural gas leaks on public sector emergency response in the United States

Fire departments play a critical role in responding to potential hazards generated by natural gas and propane leaks, yet the costs of providing these services is unknown. Here, we analyzed 15 years of gas leak-coded incidents from the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and estimated associated costs using fire department operating budgets. From 2003 to 2018, a total of 2.4 million gas leak-coded incidents required fire department responses, accounting for ∼0.8% of all nationwide incidents. Reported gas leak incidents have steadily increased nationwide, nearly quadrupling from 2003 to 2018. In 2018, New York City (NYC) experienced 22,090 gas leak incidents—more than the next 25 cities combined—conservatively costing NYC $70 million annually. With a median national response cost of $2609 (S.D. $1734), uncombusted gas leaks conservatively cost U.S. fire departments $564 million in 2018—at least 10x greater than for gas leak-caused fires. City-level natural gas systems entail an underappreciated and increasing public cost burden on emergency response services. Findings herein raise the salience of gas leak-associated emergency response costs and support improved gas leak response coordination between emergency services and gas utility providers. Decision-makers are encouraged to incorporate these costs into cost-benefit analyses and consider the intended and unintended effects on emergency response systems in managing energy transitions.