Construction workers putting in a new water line to an unoccupied house at 1009 Union got a surprise Monday afternoon - they hit and broke a natural gas line, although they had the area flagged in advance by utility companies.
Gas was bubbling to the surface of some water when it was noticed. The problem was solved before it had started a fire, and no one was injured.
Michael Cox, who was installing the water line, explained that before beginning his work, “we called Dig Rite last week to come locate all the services for us. Where we had everything flagged was on the right side of our water line and our sewer line, all the gas and everything.
“We had the Board of Public Works to come out earlier to talk to us, and they said they would set a new meter for us by the road on the other side of the sidewalk, if we would dig under the sidewalk and run a new poly line to it. So we started digging a new poly line.
“We actually found an old abandoned gas line on top of the hill,” Cox said. “They cut it for us and told us it was abandoned. We didn’t have anything marked ... nothing was surveyed out there as far as the gas line, so we went ahead and started digging. They were supposed to come out tomorrow or sometime this week and set a new meter for us once we ran a new poly line. We didn’t get but a couple of feet deep and got into a new gas line.”
When the leak was discovered, Cox said, “we called the number on the flag, Atmos Energy. We called their 800 number. They said they would send somebody right out. They never came, so we ended up calling 9-1-1 to get the fire department, because there were people driving up through here. I guess shortly after that Atmos Energy came.”
After the Hannibal Fire Department and Atmos Energy came to the scene at 3:23 p.m., the gas was shut off and two nearby homes evacuated for more than an hour.
No one was at home in one house next to the gas leak, but residents in the other one and one across the street were temporarily evacuated, according to Mike Hale, assistant chief of the Hannibal Fire Department.
Traffic on Union also was stopped, to prevent any chance of a fire.
“Whenever you have a gas leak, there is the danger of it finding an ignition source,” Hale said. “Our job was to try to prevent that, if possible, by blocking off the roadway for probably about 45 minutes to an hour.”
This unoccupied property is owned by Chuck Smith, Hale reported. The gas line was in the easement between the sidewalk and street.
When Atmos Energy arrived, Hale explained, “they clamped the spot and it still had obvious gas coming out of the ground. They had to clamp the hose on the other side. Then they had to replace what was broken and go around to some of the homes in that area and check the gas to see if it traveled to their basements.”
“I had the firemen in their gear,” he said. However the gas in the air was not a problem, because there was plenty of air flow in the area of the spill, Hale said. The fire department remained until 4:26 p.m.
Neighbor eager
to return to home
Charles King, who lives at 1013 Union, next to the property with the gas leak, was wondering if he would get back in his home in time to get ready for work Monday.
“I have to go to work tonight,” King said. “My wife baby-sits also, somebody I work with, her daughter. This is really kind of putting a crimp in our plans today.”
His children wanted to go home, he said. “I’ve got a 7-year-old and twin 6-year-olds. They’re getting kind of impatient right now. ...Supposedly we’re supposed to be able to sleep there tonight, but it might be a few hours.”
King learned about the gas spill after picking up his children at school. He explained when he got home, he “smelled a pretty strong gas smell. I turned up my driveway and came back out on my porch and saw the gas bubbling the water up through the ground. I called 9-1-1. I just hope this gets straightened up.”
Courier-Post reporter Danny Henley contributed to this article.
