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Gas line leak closes roadway |
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Wednesday, 29 July 2009 |
By WILLIAM LANEY
Managing Editor
Construction crews at Wapakoneta High School ruptured a natural gas line along Redskin Trail causing the evacuation of one residence.
Crews digging toward Redskin Trail on the eastern half of the main parking lot punctured the natural gas line while digging a trench at approximately 2 p.m. Natural gas leaking from the pipe could be heard several hundred feet away.
“We received a call at 1:57 p.m. saying construction crews had hit a natural gas line,” Wapakoneta Fire Department Capt. Tony Stinebaugh said, who was at the scene. “When we arrived all the contractors had their equipment shut off and had isolated the area. Dominion East Ohio officials had already been called.”
Stinebaugh said they evacuated a residence on Apache Trail while other residents in the Wilderness Trails subdivision were notified of the situation.
Weather conditions helped in controlling a potentially dangerous situation.
“With the wind blowing the way it is and the wind speed as high as it is, we just secured the immediate area,” Stinebaugh said.
A wind from the southwest spread most of the natural gas to the northeast over a field and through a portion of a subdivision to the north.
Three firefighters and two fire trucks responded to the scene.
Wapakoneta Police officers used their cruisers to block Redskin Trail from east of Harvest Baptist Church to the bus parking lot at the eastern edge of the school’s property to keep motorists from driving down the street while crews worked on the line. Residents could gain access to the subdivision by driving through the parking lot at Harvest Baptist Church.
Construction crews continued to work on the new elementary school located behind Wapakoneta High School and to the east of Northridge Elementary School. Trucks took an alternate route to enter and exit the construction site.
At approximately 3:15 p.m., crews clamped both ends of the line to stop the leak.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 30 July 2009 )
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