DAYTON — A ruptured natural gas line in the 1600 block of East Third Street in Dayton on Tuesday evening triggered the evacuation of businesses and apartments.
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Utility workers with two or three companies doing horizontal drilling hit the line, which connects to two other lines at a T-junction piece of pipe, District Chief Matt McClain, Dayton Fire Department, told News Center 7′s Brandon Lewis.
“We determined the gas was moving underground through some of the storm sewers,” the district chief said. “We’re not sure what happened, why they hit the gas line.”
Dayton firefighters were called and shut down a section of East Third Street so CenterPoint Energy, which maintains the lines, could come in to make repairs. Metro by T-Mobile cell phone store and Eliaa Smoke Shop & Gifts, at East Third and Huffman Avenue and nearest the leak, were evacuated. Two apartments above those businesses were evacuated as well.
Another apartment building, this one at 1903 E. Third across the street from the leak, was partially evacuated for a short time after some residents complained that they could smell gas, McClain said.
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Tyrone Hill, who lives in a second-floor apartment at 1903 E. Third St., said he was coming out to go to a store when firefighters told him to evacuate because of the gas leak.
“It was kind of scary,” he said.
Hill was given permission to go back inside the building to alert his neighbors.
“You could smell the gas when you come out the door,” he said. “It was strong.”
Despite being frightened by the suddenness of the emergency, Hill said he was happy because Dayton firefighters and the CenterPoint Energy workers seemed to have the situation under control.
No one was injured, the district chief said.
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