FEBRUARY 27, 2015
AUBURN , NEW YORK
An apparent natural gas explosion Friday evening blew
several manhole covers into the air and caused a street to be closed, but no
one was hurt.
The Auburn Fire department responded about 4:13 p.m. to
Genesee Street for a reported gas explosion from a leak underground. One car
was damaged by a manhole cover, but no injuries were reported.
Rachael Juhl, the owner of Hunter's Dinerant, was just about
to leave her diner Friday afternoon when she heard two loud explosions.
“I thought it was a car accident or something out front,”
Juhl said. “We went outside, and there was a manhole cover that blew up under
my car.”
The manhole cover that shot up and scattered pieces of
Juhl's Chevrolet Cobalt all over Genesee Street was one of several on the
street that were propelled into the air by a gas explosion around 4:15 p.m.
Friday.
No one was hurt in the explosion, but both The Liberty
Store, 5 E. Genesee St., and Speno Music, 3 E. Genesee St., had to be evacuated
after responders with the Auburn Fire Department detected gas coming from the
basement of the buildings.
Gas was shut off for about two hours at Speno Music and the
Liberty Store after the smell was detected, according to Auburn Fire Assistant
Chief Joseph Morabito, but other than that no widespread shut downs were
expected.
Neither NYSEG nor the Auburn Fire Department found an
immediate source of the gas leak. As of Friday night, the fire department
handed the scene over to NYSEG, who drilled into parts of the road to search
for potential problem areas.
The street was closed off between the Loop Road and Owasco
Street intersections for about two hours. NYSEG has requested one westbound
lane be left closed, so manhole covers could remain off and allow any potential
gas fumes to fan out.
Morabito said the gas line that runs down East Genesee
Street to the bridge near Hunter's Dinerant is less than a year old. NYSEG
responders indicated the problem could have been caused where the new line
meets the old, Morabito said.
If the source could not be found Friday night, NYSEG intends
to be back on Monday to search for the source, Morabito said.
Source: auburnpub.com