‘Major’ gas leak in same area where gas explosions happened last year; more than 100 evacuated
“We were able to shut it off, isolate it, ventilate it, before anything tragic happened.”
A “major” gas leak in South Lawrence led to more than 100 people being evacuated and at least two school closures Friday, according to a statement from Mayor Dan Rivera. No fires or explosions have been reported in the area.The leak, which was reported around 3 a.m., happened in the same general area affected by the Merrimack Valley gas explosions last year, although most of the South Lawrence residents affected last year were not impacted by the current leak, according to Mark Kempic, the president of Columbia Gas of Massachusetts.Kempic said in a Friday morning press conference that the leak was from a pipeline that was installed last year. “If you live in South Lawrence and you were previously affected in the last gas leak a year ago, you are not in the affected area,” Rivera said. “Unless you’re inside Andover to Merrimack and Sanborn to Parker street.”Lawrence Fire Chief Brian Moriarty said his department found gas traveling through the sewers.
“At the present time we’ve had no fires, no explosions,” he said at the 7 a.m. press conference. “We were able to shut it off, isolate it, ventilate it, before anything tragic happened.”
Columbia Gas shut off the gas and power in the areas, Kempic said. The company also said it was not doing work in the area at the time of the leak.
“People should leave the area,” Rivera said. “We don’t know where it’s emanating from — where the leak started.”
A tweet from Columbia Gas just after 6 a.m. said the gas was shut off and the area was “being made safe.” Crews plan to go door-to-door to check on 146 customers and investigate.
A center for evacuated residents is operating out of Arlington Middle School at 150 Arlington St., according to the Massachusetts Red Cross.
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