MARCH 27, 2015
MONROE TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN
Construction crews working at Kroger grocery store
accidentally (?) pierced a gas line Thursday afternoon leading to the
evacuation of residents and the supermarket.
No one was injured and no property appeared to be damaged by
the leak, which occurred around 4 p.m. along the service drive at the northern
end of Kroger near Cass St.
Monroe Township Fire Inspector Lt. Calvin Schmitt said gas
flowed freely in the area and could be detected easily by people in the
vicinity.
Although natural gas does dissipate easily, especially with
a strong breeze, the situation nonetheless was dangerous if gas happened to
settle inside nearby houses.
“You have several natural ignition sources that could have
caused an explosion,” Lt. Schmitt said.
Several houses on Long Ct. and Cass
St. were evacuated.
Customers and staff members at Kroger also were evacuated
for about 2 1⁄2 hours before the supermarket was reopened to the public.
Employees at the nearby Monroe Bank & Trust branch were
sent home early.
Lt. Schmitt said workers in the area were in the process of
relocating water mains as part of the Kroger expansion project.
Miss Dig did mark the areas where gas lines were, Lt.
Schmitt said. But they apparently were close in proximity to the water lines
and a line was hit during excavation.
Repairmen dug a second hole 50 to 75 feet away from the
ruptured line and clamped it. Then crews repaired the damaged line. The area
was blocked off near Jones Ave. and Cass St. during the incident.
Source: http://www.monroenews.com/
Source: http://www.monroenews.com/