McKinney Neighborhood Evacuated By Natural Gas Line Break

January 23, 2013 4:10 PM

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McKINNEY (CBSDFW.COM) – Just north of downtown McKinney, residents and business operators said they smelled the trouble first Wednesday morning.

It didn’t take long for residents in the 500 block of North Kentucky Street to realize their neighborhood would be the site of a dangerous gas line rupture.

A construction crew working along Kentucky and Lamar, hit the four inch gas line using a backhoe around 10:00 A.M. It was an apparent unmarked gas line.

Teams from the McKinney Fire Department quickly moved residents out of a two-block area.

“With the winds, it was blowing the gas north. We evacuated the area, which included businesses and residents,” said McKinney Fire Department Public Information Officer Stacie Durham.

All told, the department evacuated just under 25 people.

No one was injured with this leak. Within an hour, the evacuated residents were allowed to return.

In a press release to CBS 11, McKinney Fire Department encouraged residents to know what actions to take (or not to take) if they smell natural gas, for example:

Do not attempt to locate gas leaks
Do not smoke or use lighters, matches or other sources of open flames
Do not turn lights on or off or unplug electrical appliances or computers
If you are operating power equipment, tools, or vehicles in the area, do not move the ignition switch from the current position
Do not use telephones, including cell phones, in or near an area where you smell gas
Leave the area immediately and call your natural gas provider or dial 9-1-1

They said Fire and Police personnel remained on scene for approximately three hours.

Atmos Energy is responsible for the oversight of the gas line. Their spokesperson said they too were trying to find out how a construction crew could hit this line.

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