Free App Helps First Responders Throughout ONEOK’s Footprint

ONEOK subscribes to Buxus, a mobile application that provides critical information on pipelines to first responders.

This spring, one of our competitors experienced a lightning strike on one of their natural gas pipelines, which resulted in an explosion. Thankfully, there were no injuries.

Buxus, a mobile application, helped a first responder during the incident. Buxus is an app ONEOK subscribes to and was among the first operators to pioneer the program.

Buxus – Latin for “pipe” – is an app designed to provide critical, 24-7 information on pipelines. Buxus does not require cell or Wi-Fi coverage to work. At the touch of a button, it provides the information needed by key stakeholders before and during a pipeline emergency, regardless of whether an in-person meeting has occurred or not.

“We’ve been rolling this out to emergency responders for about four years now,” said Donnie Krumsiek, supervisor, regulatory compliance, pipeline safety in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “Emergency responders can sign up for the app, and it will identify their jurisdictions and display the pipelines of companies that are part of Buxus.”

Such was the case this spring with a lieutenant from the Woodward Fire Department in Oklahoma.

“We had a pipeline explosion this morning in our response area,” wrote the firefighter in a message to Buxus. He had downloaded the app at an Oklahoma hazmat conference.

“Once the call came in this morning, I pulled your app up and found the pipeline owners in the area,” he said. “Having the emergency numbers right there handy was a huge plus! Your app saved me a huge headache of trying to find pipelines in the area and also who owns them. It was handy, right there. Thank you so much for developing the app and having it free for us first responders.”

Before Buxus, first responders had to carry around bulky three-ring binders or thick folders of information, Krumsiek said. Now, all that information is available through an app.

“It provides specific information, like safety data sheets, product type, pipeline size, emergency response plans for the company,” he explained.

As a first responder with the Richland Fire Department, Kody Jinkens, supervisor, area operations in Medford, Oklahoma, was once dispatched to the scene of a suspected natural gas odor.

“I was able to pull up Buxus to understand any pipelines in the area and proactively make decisions for my crew,” said Jinkens, who also noted the app’s convenience. “It’s quick data at a glance to allow for immediate situational awareness, improved safety for my crew and the public, and incident size-up before arrival.”

Information at First Responders’ Fingertips

Krumsiek provided a quick tour of the app, zooming in on a specific area in Oklahoma with different colored lines zigzagging in myriad directions.

“Each company is a different color,” he said, pointing out ONEOK’s. “If I tap right here, it will pop up that it’s a ONEOK natural gas liquids (NGLs) transmission line, that it’s a six-inch steel pipe. Tap on ‘View Operator,’ and it will start pulling up ONEOK information.”

In an emergency, a first responder can click on that same line and a red bar with an 800 number pops up – the number to contact ONEOK’s Pipeline Control.

Additional tabs tell the first responder exactly what to do in an emergency regarding NGLs and what steps to take next – steps for each type of emergency responder, from 911 dispatchers and firefighters to law enforcement and EMS.

“It puts a lot of information in their hands, all at their fingertips,” said Krumsiek, adding that companies that subscribe to Buxus pay for the app so that first responders don’t have to.

Feedback like the Woodward firefighter’s is crucial to Buxus, as well as ONEOK’s Public Awareness team.

“It helps us understand how emergency responders are using the app,” he said. “We plan on having a sit-down conversation with those emergency responders and ask them questions about how easy was it to use, how practical was it, what services did they find helpful and what could we do to make it better.”

Krumsiek hopes to get the word out about Buxus to all employees, some of whom are volunteer firefighters. Each emergency responder is vetted who signs up for it.

“We’re all stewards of safety,” he reminded. “We all have a responsibility around our Core Value of Safety.”