OOOPS, WAS THAT A GAS LINE?

Amherst – Construction workers digging on Cooper Foster Park Road in Amherst this morning struck a gas line with the tooth from their back hoe.

Assistant Chief Jim Wilhelm of the Amherst Fire Department said the crew was doing work on the property that will soon be the home of Dovin Funeral home. “The contractor, while digging near the road, dug through a 6” gas main that appears to be a medium pressure main. Must have put one of his teeth into the plastic pipe and there was a pretty good amount of gas coming out of there when we pulled up.”

Wilhelm said that once he saw the amount of gas spewing out of the main he had Amherst Police shut down Cooper Foster from Leavitt to Terra Lane. Police were assisted by Lorain Police Auxiliary in the road closure. Lorain Firefighters were also providing assistance with a crew during the hour long ordeal.

Police and Firefighters knocked on the doors of the two homes next door to the leak to make sure everyone was out of the house. Firefighters walked the neighborhood with gas meters to determine the danger level. “Basically I wanted them to canvas the allotment to read the LEL (Lower Explosive Limit) of the natural gas to ensure we didn’t have any explosive levels throughout the neighborhood.”

Firefighters only detected odors in the neighborhood surrounding the leak – Wilhelm said the wind helped prevent the situation from becoming worse. “The winds helped dissipate the fumes instead of it laying there in pockets, making it a more dangerous situation.”

Wilhelm said that crews from Columbia Gas arrived and plugged the hole. Shortly after the hole was plugged the road was reopened to traffic. Columbia Gas remained on scene to repair the line.

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