Construction Equipment Strikes Gas Line, Causing Leak On Development Site

Firefighters were called to a residential area under development at Arbor Mist Pass and Sugar Maple Lane after receiving a report of a natural gas leak there. Engine 12 arrived at 9:12 a.m. and noted a smell the gas from over two blocks away from the address.
 
Firefighters parked a block away and approached on foot. They met with a construction foreman who said a gas line was cut completely by a backhoe during excavation.
 
As they awaited the arrival of a MG&E technician, Engine Company 12 used its air monitor to determine if any of the nearby occupied homes needed to be evacuated. Winds were clocking in at approximately 11 miles per hour at times, blowing the natural gas in various directions.
 
MG&E soon arrived and pinched off the gas line, and the air cleared up within a minute. Soon the MG&E tech and construction workers determined the firefighters’ services were no longer needed, and MG&E remained on location to take care of permanent repairs.