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Comm
Many customers lost telephone and computer service after a third-party contractor working on a streetscape project cut phone lines shortly after 12:30 p.m. Emergency fire and police calls were re-routed through the a neighboring communications center while the lines were repaired.
Link: "Phone service is restored for Harwood Heights "
Norridge Harwood Heights News
UF Accident #5646
Harwood Heights, IL 06/24/2008
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Gas
Nearly 35 people were evacuated from their homes for nearly five hours after city crews working to repair a water main accidently struck a gas line.
Link: "Authorities evacuate homes after gas leak"
The Monitor
UF Accident #5645
Weslaco, TX 06/20/2008
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Gas
A local pool was evacuated after workers struck a gas line that runs from behind the pool complex to a retirement complex. Non-city workers were installing signposts near a bike path when they struck the 4-inch high pressure natural gas supply line. Although air quality tests showed that the air was not dangerous, about 30 people at the pool were evacuated as a precaution. No surrounding homes were evacuated.
Link: "Pottsville"
RepublicanHerald.com
UF Accident #5644
Pottsville, PA 06/20/2008
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Gas
Emergency workers evacuated three hours and blocked traffic from a neighboring street after a resident installing a fence struck a ¾-inch gas line. The evacuations were precautionary, according to fire officials.
Link: "Gas Leak on Haisten Drive Repaired"
WTVY News 4
UF Accident #5641
Dothan, AL 06/19/2008
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Water
A major thoroughfare was closed by police during the afternoon rush hour after construction workers installing new sewer lines ruptured a water main. The road was closed for nearly eight hours.
Link: "Water main break results in Westfield police closing section of Union Street"
MassLive.com
UF Accident #5642
Westfield, MA 06/19/2008
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Gas
A building on a local community college campus was evacuated following a gas leak. A construction crew was digging to pull up concrete slabs on campus as part of a sidewalk replacement program when it pulled a 1-inch gas line.
Link: "Building at Massasoit Community College evacuated after gas main breaks"
EnterpriseNews.com
UF Accident #5639
Brockton, MA 06/19/2008
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Gas
A major highway was closed for more than four hours after a trencher dug through a 4-inch high-pressure natural gas line just north of the highway shortly after 9 a.m. The leaking gas forced firefighters to close a nine-mile stretch of the highway and re-route traffic.
Link: "Major gas leak closes highway"
Taft Midway Driller
UF Accident #5643
Taft, CA 06/18/2008
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Sewer
An underground contractor who was boring under the road to install a telephone service ruptured a 6-inch sewer main in front of a home. County officials said the leak was confined to a roadway ditch and was not flowing off the site causing only one sewer pump station and one sewer customer to lose service during repairs. Less than 1,000 gallons of sewer was spilled onto the ground where it was vacuum-pumped and transported to a wastewater treatment system, officials said.
Link: "Contractor breaks West Olive main sewer line"
Grand Haven Tribune
UF Accident #5640
West Olive, MI 06/18/2008
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Gas
Traffic was shut-down in two city blocks surround the area where city workers hit a gas line while doing routine maintenance in a ditch.
Link: "Bossier City crew hits gas line, forces brief road closure"
KSLA News 12
UF Accident #5636
Bossier City, LA 06/18/2008
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Gas
A Several homes on the city’s west side were evacuated as a precaution after a construction crew hit a natural gas main. Dozens of gas customers were without service for about an hour following the accident.
Link: "De Pere homes evacuated after crews hit gas main"
Green Bay Press Gazette
UF Accident #5637
De Pere, WI 06/18/2008
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Water
Tens of thousands of gallons of water spilled onto a main street after utility workers drilled into a water main leaving more than a dozen residents with no water and rerouting traffic for hundreds of commuters. This was the second water main break on this street in two months, but was less severe than the first break on May 14. Officials estimated that less than 50,000 gallons of water were lost as a result of the most recent damage. About a dozen residents lost water service.
Link: "Utility crew drills into water main in Salem "
The Eagle-Tribune
UF Accident #5638
Salem, MA 06/17/2008
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Water
A geyser sent water shooting into the air after a contractor working on a streetscape project accidently dug into and ruptured a water line. Several thousand gallons of water rushed down the street and into the river below. There was damage to parts of the streetscape project.
Link: "Water Main Break Causes Geyser in Downtown Morgantown"
WBOY-TV
UF Accident #5625
Morgantown, WV 06/16/2008
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Gas
A portion of Cemetery Road was closed for several hours because of a gas leak. According to the Norwich Township fire officials, a vertical auger was drilling into the ground shortly before 10 a.m. as part of the Cemetery Road-Norwich Street intersection improvement and struck a 6-inch gas line. The auger needed to be safely removed, so workers drilled a hole on each side of the leak and clamped the line off so that there was no gas in the section which was touching the auger. The road reopened at about 1:40 p.m.
Link: "Cemetery Road Reopens Following Gas Leak"
WBNS 10TV
UF Accident #5626
Hilliard, OH 06/16/2008
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Gas
A gas leak forced the evacuation of homes and one business. About 7:30 a.m., subcontractors working on the village/Leelanau Township sewer project tore a 1-inch hose from a 6-inch main owned by Michigan Consolidated Gas.
The leak, on Shabwasung Street just south of Smith Avenue, forced the evacuation of four homes and eight to 10 employees from the Spartan Flag Company. Emergency response teams cleared the area at 5:57 p.m., and no injuries were reported.
Link: "Northport gas leak causes evacuations"
Leelanau Enterprise
UF Accident #5627
Northport, MI 06/16/2008
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Gas
Two roads were closed and several homes and evacuated after a gas line ruptured. Fire officials said a crew severed a four-inch gas main while digging on a property under development at the intersection of Atlantis Drive and Bass Lake Sideroad. Workers were also moved from the area while Union Gas repaired the severed pipe.
Link: "Roads closed by gas leak"
Orillia Today
UF Accident #5628
Orillia, Ontario 06/16/2008
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Gas
Police and fire departments forced downtown wokrers to evacuate their businesses to avoid a major gas leak. Construction came to a standstill at a shopping plaza is being built behind the Taco Bell on Carolina Beach Road when gas from a construction main started spewing into the air. A worker for one of the utility companies who hit the main. The gas was spraying into the air and with the wind blowing in all directions causing the police and fire departments to evacuate all surrounding businesses, including Taco Bell and the Post Office. Nearly a dozen workers in the nearby buildings were displaced for about two hours this afternoon. No one was injured.
Link: "Businesses evacuated near Monkey Junction due to gas leak"
WWAY 3
UF Accident #5629
Monkey Junction, NC 06/13/2008
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Gas
Some Johnstown residents were evacuated from their homes after a road crew struck a gas line. The incident happened in the area of Keppler and Palliser streets in the Upper Yoder area around 9 a.m. Officials said a road crew struck the line, releasing the gas into the air and forcing some nearby residents to leave their homes. Workers said their maps showed the area was clear of any lines. Residents were permitted to return home just before noon.
Link: "Gas Leak Forces Some Johnstown Residents To Evacuate "
WJAC TV
UF Accident #5630
Johnstown, PA 06/13/2008
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Gas
Ten homes were affected by a natural gas leak. Two houses were evacuated and the people in eight others were sheltered until the leak was fixed. The three-inch Questar gas main was punctured when construction crews drilled through it near the intersection of 5080 West and 5400 South about 12:45 p.m. During initial testing, the crews found high levels of natural gas in three sewer manhole covers. Questar officials fixed the leak and the people were returned to their homes.
Link: "10 homes are affected by a natural gas leak"
The Salt Lake Tribune
UF Accident #5632
Kearns, UT 06/13/2008
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Gas
Several homes near a local high school and middle school complex were evacuated after a subcontractor hit a gas line while completing soil borings in preparation for new water and sewer lines. According to officials, precautions had been taken, but the crew inadvertently struck a mis-marked line.
Link: "Gas pipe leak causes evacuations"
TimesBulletin.com
UF Accident #5633
Van Wert, OH 06/13/2008
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Water
Six customers lost water service and one home sustained minimal damage after workers accidentally tore into an 8-inch water pipe while replacing an area bridge. A construction company official said the damaged pipe had been about 11 feet from where it had been reported to be found by a firm they hired to locate the lines.
Link: "Water pipe damaged during Klineline Bridge work"
The Columbian
UF Accident #5623
Clark County, WA 06/12/2008
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Power
An explosion at a condo construction project in northwest Portland critically injured a worker, fire officials said. The dangerous chain of events started when a worker drilling into concrete near the intersection of Northwest 9th Avenue and Northwest Overton Street accidentally hit an underground power line shortly before 3 p.m. The resulting explosion shot power down through a basement and into a room, blowing off a panel there. A worker who was down there was overcome with smoke and taken to a hospital for treatment. The worker with the drill was badly burned. That worker was taken to Legacy Emanuel Hospital with critical injuries. A handful of workers who ran down to check on their colleagues were also overcome with smoke and treated for smoke inhalation, fire officials said.
Link: "Workers hurt in explosion at construction site"
KATU.com
UF Accident #5634
Portland, OR 06/12/2008
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Gas
Flames burst from a ditch where technicians with a communication company were performing maintenance on an underground cable. Two technicians ruptured a gas line near a local hotel causing flames to shoot from the ground singeing the tree above. The one worker jumped from the deep hole where he was working seconds before the fire, officials said. The workers were using a torch to seal the cables which company officials said was one of a variety of normal methods technicians use for maintenance work. Residents from eight homes were evacuated while firefighters battled the flames for more than an hour. Nearly 70 customers had their service interrupted following the accident. The workers were using a torch to seal the cables which company officials said was one of a variety of normal methods technicians use for maintenance work.
Link: "Fire erupts as work ruptures gas line in Nashville neighborhood"
The Tennessean
UF Accident #5615
06/11/2008
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Gas
A handful of downtown workers complained of nausea following a natural gas line ruptured. Officials also closed a major intersection for about an hour as crews repaired the broken gas line. Construction workers digging with a backhoe broke the 3-inch main. No one was evacuated, but about 10 people were treated for nausea and other symptoms, according to the fire chief. The intersection was re-opened within an hour.
Link: "Gas leak closes downtown Salt Lake intersection "
Deseret News
UF Accident #5619
Salt Lake City, UT 06/11/2008
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Water
Several homes and businesses in the center of town lost water service after workers damaged a water main during excavation for a new sewer extension line.
Link: "Water service disrupted as main damaged during sewer work in center of Wilbraham"
The Republican
UF Accident #5620
Wilbraham, MA 06/11/2008
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Gas
One electric company employee was treated for a minor burn after a 40-foot ball of flame shot from a ruptured gas line in a local subdivision. Electric company employees were trying to restore power to a home after a storm-related outage when they accidentally ruptured the gas line leading to the home and started the fire about 1:30 p.m. evacuated the residents and doused the home with water to keep it from igniting. Gas company employees stopped the gas leak after 30 minutes.
Link: "Utility workers rupture gas line, causing fire"
Indianapolis Star
UF Accident #5621
Zionsville, IN 06/11/2008
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Gas
A natural gas main break on Chestnut Street prompted the evacuation of the Springfield Museum. The break occurred shortly before 10 a.m. as a contractor was digging fence post holes in an alleyway next to the museum. A Springfield Fire Department spokesman said the break, which blew a lot of sand into the air, was not as serious as it initially appeared. The musuem reopened about 10:30 a.m.
Link: "Natural gas leak prompts evacuation of Springfield Museum"
The Republican
UF Accident #5613
Springfield, MA 06/10/2008
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Water
A broken water main flooded the construction area of the new roundabout at W. Gage Blvd. and N. Center Parkway. A bulldozer cut into the water main at around 8 a.m. The entire intersection at North Center Parkway and Gage was under two to three feet of water.
Link: "Construction Crews Break Water Main Flooding Area At Kennewick"
KNDO/KNDU
UF Accident #5614
Kennewick, WA 06/10/2008
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Gas
Several homes were evacuated after city workers digging in the area damaged a natural gas line. The crew was using a milling machine to break up the caliche in the alley. According to a city official, the crew had spotted for the gas line but it was only six to eight inches deep and was hit.
Link: "Several Portales residents were evacuated due to a natural gas leak"
Portales News-Tribune
UF Accident #5612
Portales, NM 06/09/2008
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Gas
AA ruptured gas line forced the evacuation of about 50 people from businesses and houses near a local shopping center for about an hour. A town work crew struck the gas line with a backhoe while digging to replace a water line. Officials said that the crew was digging in an area that was about four feet away from a sign warning of the location of the natural gas line. Also evacuated were the staff and animals at a veterinary clinic.
Link: "Gas line rupture forces 50 in MO to evacuate"
Goldsboro News Argus
UF Accident #5618
Mt. Olive, NC 06/09/2008
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Gas
A natural gas leak near a park on the city's southeast side was apparently due to a gas pipeline that was inadvertently laid through a storm sewer. The underground gas lines, installed more than a decade ago by the gas company, were not supposed to pass through the concrete storm sewer. Following weekend heavy rains, the storm sewer filled up and the likely worn down gas pipes cracked inside the sewer. A gas company official said the situation has been remedied by locating the two gas pipelines, removing and reinstalling them underneath the storm sewer. Officials with the city’s public works department said cameras could be placed into the sewer to see if there are other locations where gas lines have punctured the concrete.
Link: "Gas leak due to misplaced pipes"
Fond du Lac Reporter
UF Accident #5622
Fond du Lac, WI 06/09/2008
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Gas
A gas leak slowed traffic for hours after a gas company backhoe struck a high-pressure line while making street repairs. The incident was reported about 8:30 a.m. at Etiwanda Avenue and Arrow Route. The line was fixed about 1:45 p.m. The fire department had to close the intersection for a time. Residents at an apartment complex on the northeast corner of the intersection were also told to close their windows and doors closed because of the leak, fire officials said.
Link: "Gas line puncture closes Rancho intersection"
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
UF Accident #5609
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 06/07/2008
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Gas
The last day of school ended early for some elementary students after gas leak near the Joan Martin Elementary School prompted school officials to send about 670 children home early. A contractor taking soil samples struck a gas line near the school's parking lot. The wind was blowing away from the school, but administrators decided to dismiss students early as a precaution. No children were ever in any danger.
Link: "Gas leak forces evacuation of elementary school"
WISH-TV
UF Accident #5602
Hobart, IN 06/06/2008
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Comm
Emergency 911 service was disrupted after workers accidently cut through underground fiber lines. Thousands of telephone customers in three area codes also lost local and long-distance service.
Link: "North county 911 service restored; phone service expected back by 10 p.m. "
The Columbian
UF Accident #5608
Clark County, WA 06/06/2008
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Gas
Two manufacturing facilities were evacuated after a large gas main break on Rosemont's north side. Nicor gas crews and dozens of Rosemont police and fire units responded to the break at about 9:30 a.m. about a half a block from the Rosemont Recreation Center south of Touhy Avenue. As of 12:51 p.m.a Nicor Gas company spokesman said gas was off and the area was safe. A crew was working on a water main when the 4" gas main was struck causing the leak. Police blocked off Barry Street south of Touhy to Lunt Avenue and parts of Lunt Avenue east and west of Barry Street.
Link: "Gas Main Break In Rosemont"
Des Plaines Journal
UF Accident #5604
Rosemont, IL 06/05/2008
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Gas
Thousands of shoppers and workers at a mall were evacuated when a construction accident broke a gas main outside the construction site of a Target department store. About 2,500 to 3,000 people were in the shopping complex when the incident was reported at 11:52 a.m. There were no reports of injuries. Authorities blocked off the upper and lower decks of the parking area behind the Target structure. Motorists parked in that section of the garage were barred from the area as a precaution. The move was designed to prevent ignition of any pockets of gas until crews from Southern Connecticut Gas Co. arrived to shut off gas lines and give clearance. Fire officials said construction crews were drilling for installation of bollards when the gas main break occurred. A gas company official said identifying which gas lines to shut off was challenging because the mall was built in stages, and the company didn't want to affect other customers unnecessarily. An all-clear was given at 1:11 p.m. Officials said there would be an investigation to determine whether the contractor had proper clearance from the gas company before working near its lines.
Link: "Cut gas line forces evacuation at mall"
Connecticut Post
UF Accident #5605
Trumbull, CT 06/05/2008
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Gas
A ruptured gas line temporarily closed traffic at one of the busiest crossroads. The intersection of Route 46 and Route 167 was off limits to traffic for more than an hour after a construction crew accidentally ruptured an 8-inch high-pressure natural gas line. No injuries were reported. Police were contacted at 11 a.m. by workers for a company doing excavating work on the east side of Route 46, north of the intersection. Police and firefighters were dispatched to the scene, and quickly made the decision to shut down the area to traffic to help prevent a fire or explosion.
Link: "Gas line breaks"
Ashtabula Star-Beacon
UF Accident #5606
Jefferson, OH 06/05/2008
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Gas
Atmos Energy personnel plugged a ruptured gas line behind Maryville Towers around 12:20 p.m. Workers made four trips into the hole where the line was leaking, wearing protective gear and protected by a curtain of water sprayed by the Maryville Fire Department. The rupture occurred in a three-quarter-inch line fed by a four-inch line, which made the pressure intense. A roaring hiss came from the hole for about two hours before the line was plugged. The ventilation system at Maryville Towers, a residential facility for the elderly, was turned off to keep gas from getting into the building. The break occurred in an apparently unmarked gas line as the company worked on it.
Link: "Workers stop leak in gas line near Maryville facility for elderly"
NBC15.com
UF Accident #5594
Maryville, TN 06/04/2008
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Gas
A landscaping company was working working in a residential neighborhood struck a 2-inch gas line. One of the landscaping workers was in the hole at the time, but not hurt. He quickly got out of the hole, ran to the street to direct traffic away from the area and called 911. Fire personnel evacuated nine homes from the area of the gas leak. MG&E workers arrived and shut down two valves. It took around 30 minutes for MG&E crews to stop the leak.
Link: "Ruptured Gas Line Evacuates Nine Homes"
WMTV
UF Accident #5596
Madison, WI 06/04/2008
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Gas
A contractor working in downtown hit an unmarked natural gas pipe sending a plume of dust 80 feet in the air, forcing the evacuation of several businesses and blocking access to the center of the city. A crew working on a sidewalk improvement project struck the pipe at about 9 a.m. near the intersection of 21st Avenue and College Way. Fire and police crews evacuated every business between Ash and Main streets and 21st and Pacific avenues in the heart of downtown. Other downtown businesses including the Forest Grove Community Charter School were advised to shelter inside their buildings until the gas leak could be secured. Approximately 300 people in the downtown business district were evacuated and affected by the gas leak.
Link: "Natural gas pipe break forces evacuation of downtown Forest Grove"
Forest Grove News-Times
UF Accident #5597
Forest Grove, OR 06/04/2008
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Comm
Some residents experienced interruptions in their phone service after a construction crew cut a fiber optic line near Gratiot Avenue and Martin Road.
Crews working to replace a water main at Martin Road and Pinehurst Street damaged the phone line at about 11 a.m.
Link: "Some Roseville phone service interrupted; fiber optic line cut"
The Detroit News
UF Accident #5598
Roseville, MI 06/04/2008
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Water
Queen City water department worked into the night with the assistance of the Cass County Emergency Services District 4 to restore water to the residents of Queen City. At approximately 9:30 a.m., Centerpoint Energy punctured a water main at the intersection of Elm and Georgia streets. City crews responded immediately, however, water service will not be restored until after midnight.
Link: "Centerpoint cuts water main "
Atlanta Citizens Journal
UF Accident #5599
Queen City, TX 06/04/2008
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Gas
One woman was taken to the hospital and another 35 were evacuated from their homes after a gas leak in a local subdivision. A construction worker hit a 2-inch gas line with a backhoe while working on a new house in the subdivision. Fifteen homes were evacuated.
Link: "15 homes evacuated during gas leak"
Victoria Advocate
UF Accident #5600
Victoria, TX 06/04/2008
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Gas
A stretch of along a local street and railroad service was shut down after more than 19,000 gallons of diesel spilled from a punctured underground gas line. The pipeline company had hired subcontractors to work on a line in the area. The workers damaged a 1-inch feeder line linked to a main line carrying diesel, oil and gasoline from Long Beach through Arizona.
Link: "Diesel line punctured in Indio"
The Desert Sun
UF Accident #5601
Indio, CA 06/04/2008
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Comm
Thousands of telecommunications customers in a three state area were affected after workers cut fiber-optic cables in two locations in Illinois a few hours apart. A contractor digging severed a cable which affected Verizon customers in three states. The cable cut affected voicemail for an undetermined number of Verizon customers in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. It also affected high-speed Internet for about 6,000 customers in the Bloomington-Normal area of Illinois. Another major cable cut occurred earlier the same day when a crew digging along a Chicago interstate severed cable in a ditch next to the highway. Internet service throughout much of the Midwest was slowed through the evening.
Link: "Cut cables knock out services"
Bloomington Pantagraph
UF Accident #5603
Dwight, IL 06/04/2008
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Water
Just off Main Street in Madison some homes and businesses are under a 48-hour boil-water alert. Several restaurants closed their doors while others are going to expensive lengths to serve their customers. Madison Public Works reported that a water line was accidentally cut by a contractor installing a storm drainage pipe on Sunny Orchard Road. It caused a pressure loss for some homes and businesses along Main Street. Nearly 300 residents are affected.
Link: "Cut Water Line Forces Businesses to Close"
WLBT 3
UF Accident #5591
Madison, MS 06/03/2008
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Gas
A plumber excavating a trench in West Philadelphia was electrocuted after striking a 13,000-volt underground power line, causing a short circuit that shut off service to 1,300 customers for several hours. According to the electric company officials, the contractor had failed to notify utility companies before digging in the 800 block of North Brooklyn Street, near Lancaster Avenue. About 3:25 p.m., the plumber's equipment came into contact with the high-power line, killing the plumber instantly and shutting down power to a large area. Electrical service was restored after two hours.
Link: "Plumber electrocuted digging trench in West Phila."
Philadelphia Inquirer
UF Accident #5590
Philadelphia, PA 06/03/2008
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Gas
Allison Avenue between Main and Second streets was closed for about 30 minutes after Vectren crews dug into their own high-pressure gas main. Xenia fire officials said the crews were digging to connect a gas line to a new pharmacy going in on the block when the accident occurred about 10:15 a.m. Traffic was diverted from the area while fire crews controlled ignition sources in the area and searched for a shut-off valve. By 11 a.m., gas to the busted line was shut off and local traffic flow was restored.
Link: "Busted gas line closes street"
The Greene County Dailies
UF Accident #5592
Xenia, OH 06/03/2008
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Water
A crew from the cable company was working along Lanvale Road near Leland and struck a water line. When the line cracked, several hundreds of residents lost water service. It took the North Brunswick Sanitary District workers nearly three hours to fix the split and restore service. The district is now calculating a bill for the damage, the man hours, and a fine.
Link: "Cable company hits water line in Leland"
WECT TV6
UF Accident #5588
Leland, NC 06/02/2008
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Gas
Service was only briefly interrupted after a construction worker ruptured a gas line. The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded at about 11:45 a.m. at the intersection of Charles Street and Hawthorne Road, west of Arena Park. A worker hit a residential gas line with a backhoe, causing a lea. No one was in danger and there was no chance of an explosion, fire officials said. Fire crews left the scene by 12:30 p.m. after the line was shut off and the gas dissipated. An AmerenUE crew was two blocks away at the time and quickly repaired the line. One customer was temporarily without natural gas service after the incident, but the line was operating normally by 2:30 p.m.
Link: "Ruptured gas line repaired quickly in Cape Girardeau"
Southeast Missourian
UF Accident #5593
Cape Girardeau, MO 06/02/2008
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Gas
Emergency crews were dispatched shortly before 8 a.m. when a construction crew working on a water line hookup accidentally ruptured an old underground gas tank at a towing company. A crew from Northridge Environmental Group of Northumberland came in and removed the gas — approximately 595 gallons that was in the 700-gallon tank. The team also removed the contaminated soil and will be taking soil samples to make sure the fuel was contained to just that small area. The scene was cleared at approximately 3:30 p.m.
Link: "Gas tank ruptured in Shamokin "
NewsItem.com
UF Accident #5585
Shamokin, MO 05/30/2008
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Gas
A PG&E crew was drilling for a natural gas line when workers accidentally ruptured the nitrogen gas line. Fortunately, nitrogen is not flammable, fire officials said. PG&E crews arrived on the scene by mid-morning to start the drilling process to penetrate the asphalt to cap leaks in both the natural and nitrogen gas lines. The biggest impact from the accident appeared to be to the high-tech businesses in the area, because many use nitrogen as a cleaning agent in manufacturing.
Link: "Nitrogen Gas Leak Affects SJ Traffic"
KCBS
UF Accident #5582
San Jose, CA 05/29/2008
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Gas
Two homes were evacuated after a gas main was ruptured and caught fire. The incident occurred around 3:30pm on Mirror Lake and Spinnaker Lane near Macon in Cordova. According to emergency officials at the scene, workers for the telephone company were doing work in the area when they accidentally severed a gas line which then ignited. Two homes in the area were evacuated as a safety precaution, however there were no injuries reported.
Link: "Broken Gas Main Catches Fire in Cordova "
Fox 13 Memphis
UF Accident #5584
Cordova, TN 05/29/2008
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Comm
A cut fiber line resulted in Internet outages for thousands of Frontier Communications Internet customers across Western Illinois. A Frontier spokesperson said the outage was caused by a fiber cut while construction crews worked on the Carthage city sewer line. The outage occurred at about 8:30 a.m. and service were restored at 11:30 p.m. According to company officials, the lengthy repair was because the fiber break was under the road. Because fiber is fragile, two large holes on either side of the road had to be dug to avoid breaking the fiber while rerouting it.
Link: "Thousands in area without Internet service Thursday"
Monmouth Daily Review Atlas
UF Accident #5586
Carthage, IL 05/29/2008
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Gas
Office workers and staff were evacuated from an apartment complex after construction workers hit a gas line. A plume of natural gas blew like a geyser out of a broken pipe at the apartment complex in Paducah where some 700 people live. Clean up crews evacuated the main office building before they even started repairs. Atmos Energy fixed the pipe by isolating the break using clamps. They then built a pipe around it, as a bypass line to allow natural gas to continue flowing to the complex, while they fixed that part of the pipeline.
Link: "Natural Gas Main Break Repaired With No Problems"
WPSD TV
UF Accident #5578
Paducah, KY 05/28/2008
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Gas
A gas leak is under control at a construction scene near the Rockingham County Jail. construction workers accidently hit the pipe around 9:00 a.m. Crews were able to cap the leak by 10:30 a.m. The leak forced a temporary closure of Highways 65 and 87.
Link: "Gas Leak Contained In Rockingham County"
DigTriad.com
UF Accident #5575
Wetnworth, NC 05/28/2008
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Gas
Crews that struck a gas line earlier in the week, which caused part of the downtown area to be closed down, struck another — smaller — gas line. The fire department responded, but no buildings needed to be evacuated or streets closed and Northern Utilities had the line repaired quickly. There have been several gas line breaks in different parts of the city within the past year. According to fire officials, the reason for the leaks is always the same: records marking utility lines are old and sometimes lines have shifted. City officials said the city works with contractors and utility companies to get accurate locations, but the system is not fool-proof.
Link: "Another downtown gas line struck, quickly repaired"
SeaCoastOnline.com
UF Accident #5574
Portsmouth, NH 05/28/2008
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Gas
McKinney fire crews responded to a gas leak caused by construction crews working on a street renovation project. The leak occurred sometime before 3:38 p.m. near the intersection of Seneca and Throckmorton Street and prompted evacuations of nearby homes and the Holy Family School. Atmos Energy crews responded to the call shortly after a contractor hired by the city contacted the fire department after workers hit the gas line. McKinney fire and police responded to the call and blocked off portions of Throckmorton Street until Atmos Energy crews could shut off the leak around 4:30 p.m. A motorgrater lowering the street for the city's renovation project nicked one of the taps on the gas line and contacted the fire department. Fire officials and Atmos Energy crews responded to the scene and evacuated Holy Family School students and staff, as well as three area homes on Fenet Street, an Atmos Energy spokesman said. Atmos crews were able to close off the gas line less than an hour after the initial call. Atmos and fire crews also inspected nearby homes and underground sewer lines to make sure none of the gas leaking out into other lines or homes.
Link: "Another gas leak reported in area near explosion"
McKinneyCourier-Gazette
UF Accident #5577
McKinney, TX 05/28/2008
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Gas
An elementary school was evacuated and classes cut short after a bulldozer ruptured a nearby gas line. Fire crews checked the school while UGI crews worked on stopping and patching the leak. Police assisted in taking students to the Northampton Area Borough High School Stadium and the Middle School for lunch. UGI shut the line off and students were taken back to school an hour and half after being evacuated. The school district said the school was tested and no levels were found inside or outside of the school.
Link: "Gas Line Struck Outside School in Northampton County"
WFMZ TV
UF Accident #5576
Northampton County, PA 05/28/2008
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Comm
Numerous companies experienced several hours of major delays in their Internet service after fiber lines in a major fiber pipe were cut by a road crew in the Chicago area. Service was restored later that evening, bringing Internet traffic back to normal.
A crew digging in an Interstate 94 construction corridor cut the pipe about 7:15 a.m. The line was fixed by about 4:15 p.m. The other companies impacted included Charter Communications, and the problems extended beyond Wisconsin and Illinois, with the regional outage slowing the Internet nationally. The companies rerouted traffic to other lines to prevent total outages, a spokeswoman said.
Link: "Fiber line repaired, Internet traffic back to normal"
The Capital Times
UF Accident #5580
Chicago, IL 05/28/2008
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Gas
A gas main break forced the evacuation of a handful of homes off center parkway. Sacramento firefighters said a construction crew accidently dug through a line just after 9 a.m., sending natural gas into the air. Six homes were evacuated. Center Parkway was closed between Mack Road and Bamford Drive for a couple of hours until PG&E could make the needed repairs. Nearby schools were not affected, but fire crews were in direct contact with administrators.
Link: "Morning Gas Leak Forces Few Residents To Evacuate"
CBS13.com
UF Accident #5573
Sacramento, CA 05/27/2008
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Gas
Construction crews accidentally cut the gas line that led to the evacuation of people in homes within three blocks of the leak around 1:20 p.m. SCE&G capped and fixed the cut gas line. Residents were allowed back into their homes.
Link: "Cut gas line in Cayce has been capped"
WIS News 10
UF Accident #5570
Cayce, SC 05/27/2008
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Gas
A gas main break in the 300 block of South Henry Street near Oakdale Avenue in Green Bay forced the evacuation of several homes. Private contractors building a fence for a homeowner hit the gas main just before 10 a.m., Green Bay Fire Department officials said. Emergency crews including Green Bay firefighters and Wisconsin Public Service Corp. responded to the scene. Residents downwind were evacuated as a safety precaution. There was no explosion. The homeowner said he had contacted Diggers Hotline to identify buried utilities. Diggers Hotline said it does not release information on work with private parties.
Link: "Residents return home after gas main break"
Green Bay Press Gazette
UF Accident #5571
Green Bay, WI 05/27/2008
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Gas
A gas line break forced crews to block off parts of the downtown, effectively shutting down a local restaurant for much of the day. The gas main break occurred around 9 a.m. It was repaired and roads were reopened around 12:30 p.m. Crews installing drainage pipes in front of the restaurant accidentally struck the gas main. The restaurant was evacuated and the roads around the area were blocked off shortly afterward. No other buildings in the area were evacuated.
Link: "Gas main break closes Fat Belly"
SeaCoastOnline.com
UF Accident #5572
Portsmouth, NH 05/27/2008
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Gas
Twenty people were evacuated and rush hour traffic was snarled after a paving company struck a natural gas line, fire officials said. A contractor’s paving machine “caught the underground gas line” that supplies the Central Street building near where its crews worked. Four businesses in a strip mall and eight homes were evacuated, but no one was hurt. Firefighters closed the street at about 3:30 p.m. for 45 minutes until the gas company repaired the leak.
Link: "Twenty evacuated, traffic snarled during Stoughton gas leak"
Enterprise News
UF Accident #5569
Stoughton, MA 05/27/2008
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Water
Water customers in the city and Pasquotank County are experienced periods of low pressure and outages throughout the system because of a water main break at the intersection of Rivershore and River roads. The North Carolina Department of Transportation was in the process of replacing a concrete culvert in the area when they hit a 6-inch water main at about 2 p.m., said the city manager.
Link: "Elizabeth City water main break causes outages, low pressure"
HamptonRoads.com
UF Accident #5568
Elizabeth City, VA 05/27/2008
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Power
A local elementary school's classes were cancelled for two days after contractors attempting to install fiber optic lines aimed at upgrading computer systems at the school apparently drilled into a power cable and blew out the school's electrical system. According to the school superintendent, there are only two days remaining in the school year. The school has used up its' allotted number of calamity days, so it's unknown if students will have to make up the missed days later.
Link: "Power Outage Disrupts Last Days Of School In Fairborn "
1290 AM WHIO
UF Accident #5567
Fairborn, OH 05/27/2008
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Gas
Several businesses were evacuated after crews working on the major road construction project hit a gas line with a backhoe around 8:30 a.m. Authorities quickly evacuated several businesses as a precaution. Traffic was also backed up during the morning commute as police diverted traffic. Amtrak was also told to stop any trains headed toward Essex Junction. Before noon the road and rail line had reopened and the people who were evacuated were allowed to return to work.
Link: "Gas Leak Forces Evacuations in Essex Jct."
WCAX TV
UF Accident #5566
Essex Junction, VA 05/27/2008
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Gas
All lanes of U.S. 17 were closed after a ruptured natural gas line forced lanes closures.Additionally, Walden Road between the highway and Cook Road also was closed. Police said a person doing yard work damaged a gase line.
Link: "U.S. 17 in Suffolk reopened after resident hit gas line"
The Virginian-Pilot
UF Accident #5562
Suffolk, VA 05/25/2008
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Gas
Children at a small, private school in South Tampa were evacuated from their classrooms after a natural gas-line leak. Heavy equipment from a landscaping company broke the gas line near the intersection of Bayshore Boulevard and Orleans at 11:50 a.m., a fire captain said. The leak was stopped about 12:10 p.m. The company that struck the line today is the same company that struck a gas line two days earlier, Tampa Fire Rescue officials said.
Link: "South Tampa Gas Leak Capped; Students Allowed Back In School"
TampaBayOnline.com
UF Accident #5558
Tampa, FL 05/23/2008
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Gas
The residents of a neighborhood along Johnson Street were evacuated from their homes four hours after a natural gas leak. A crew installing fiber optics struck the gas line around 2 p.m. A hazmat team was called to the scene and the area between North Ninth Avenue and 11th Avenue was blocked off. The crew had troubled reaching the line because it was buried under layers of pipe. They also had to dig using shovels because sparks from a jackhammer could ignite a fire, fire officials said. A hazmat team from the Broward Sheriff's Office was also called to the scene. The gas line was capped a little before 6 p.m.
Link: "Natural gas leak forced 4-hour evacuation in Hollywood"
Sun-Sentinel.com
UF Accident #5559
Hollywood, FL 05/23/2008
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Gas
The construction crew that is working on the 129th E. Avenue widening project between 86th and 96th Streets tore a hole in a gas line. After the fire department responded, an Oklahoma Natural Gas crew was sent to the site to contain the leak. The ONG crew capped the leak around 8:35 a.m. Firefighters on the scene said the leak posed no threat to the neighborhoods on both sides of 129th, Owasso High School or Owasso Mid-High School.
Link: "Construction crew hits gas line at 129th E. Ave"
Owasso Reporter
UF Accident #5560
Owasso, OK 05/23/2008
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Comm
Service to about 10,000 phone customers in Noblesville, Westfield and northern Hamilton County was disrupted after a crew from Indianapolis Water Company cut a fiber optic cable with a backhoe. Verizon workers were able to pinpoint where the cut was made around 11 a.m.
Link: "Cut cable sparks phone outage"
Indianapolis Star
UF Accident #5561
Noblesville, IN 05/23/2008
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Gas
Approximately 20 Rosemont police officers and firefighters responded to a major gas main break at the Aloft Hotel construction site that shut down Balmoral Avenue for three hours. Police cordoned off Balmoral from River Road to Pearl Street in Rosemont and evacuated construction workers from the construction site where the rupture took place. A backhoe operated by Plote Construction working at the site struck the underground gas main causing a the break about 9 a.m. Nicor completed repairs at 11:47 a.m. Thursday. Service was only interrupted to the Aloft site. Nicor's claims department is investigating the incident and may seek damages from the contractor, officials said.
Link: "Gas Main Break Closes Balmoral"
Des Plaines Journal
UF Accident #5579
Rosemont, IL 05/22/2008
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Comm
Telephone service in downtown New Bern was disrupted because of a cut in an Embarq line. The phone line was cut by a crew working on a sewer line at the corner of Broad and Craven Streets. It resulted in phone service interruption to Craven County administration offices at the administration building at Broad and Craven streets and the Tax Office and Register of Deeds Office on Pollock Street and in and some law offices, residences and businesses on Broad and Pollock streets. A spokesman for Embarq, said the outage affected 49 other customers as well. Service was restored to county offices and much of the area by mid-afternoon, but streets were blocked off much of the day while crews worked to make repairs.
Link: "Cut phone line disrupts service to some downtown customers"
New Bern Sun Journal
UF Accident #5551
New Bern, NC 05/22/2008
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Gas
A gas line rupture forced the evacuation of several homes, and closure of four streets in an eastside Savannah neighborhood shortly after 11:30 a.m. Savannah-Chatham Metro Police in Islands Precinct evacuated several families from the 2200 block of Gwinnett Street after construction crews struck a natural gas line. No injuries were reported. Atlanta Gas emergency crews isolated the rupture and made repairs. All of the streets including Treat, Hanson, Bolling, and Long reopened shortly before 1 p.m.
Link: "Gas Line Ruptures, Neighbors Safe"
WSAV
UF Accident #5552
Savannah, GA 05/22/2008
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Gas
UPDATE A local woman was mowing the lawn in front of her shop when a vacant restaurant across the street blew up on May 21. Contractors installing a sidewalk for a Safe Routes to School project on Main Street hit a natural-gas line to Rosie's East End Restaurant with a backhoe, UGI officials said. The resulting early afternoon explosion obliterated the restaurant and shattered windows and caused other minor damage to surrounding buildings, including Down a Country Road shop and the Al Mediterraneo restaurant. The blast sparked a fire that took two hours to extinguish. Three people were injured in the explosionm, police said. All were treated at a hospital and released. One was a construction worker who was in a ditch in front of the building. The other two were women in a passing car. A section of Main Street that was closed after the explosion was later reopened.
Link: "Blast destroys vacant restaurant"
The Patriot-News
UF Accident #5554
Hummelstown, PA 05/22/2008
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Gas
Crews in Botetourt County responded to a gas leakon U.S. 220 in Daleville and temporarily evacuated residents of nearby homes. An accident happened on a construction site behind Digital Image Printing in the 1600 block of Roanoke Road about 2:30 p.m. It caused the rupture of a 2-inch gas line. Roanoke Gas was called to shut off the natural gas. As a precaution, crews cleared some nearby buildings. By 3:20, the fire department had checked for lingering gas and those displaced were let back into their homes.
Link: "Gas leak scare ends along U.S. 220 in Daleville"
Roanoke Times
UF Accident #5555
Daleville, VA 05/22/2008
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Water
Three houses in the Westlake neighborhood of Thousand Oaks suffered severe damage after they were flooded with water from a broken main line. The California Water Service Company pipe was broken around 11:45 a.m. by a work crew hired by Verizon to dig to lay fiber optic line in the area. Water flooded East Sierra Drive at Cascade Avenue and flowed into as many as five homes. One firefighter cut his hand. He was treated at the scene. The water line was shut down and firefighters vacuumed water out of the homes. Nash said helping people protect their property is a part of a firefighter's job.
Link: "Houses damaged after water main breaks"
Ventura County Star
UF Accident #5556
Camarillo, CA 05/22/2008
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Water
A geyser of 40,000 gallons of murky water blasted out of a hole at the intersection of U.S. 29 and East Rio Road. A construction crew accidentally severed a water pipe under Rio Road, causing water to shoot up to 15 feet in the air. The crew was boring a tunnel under the road to install a gas line as part of a shopping complex being built at the southeast corner of the U.S. 29-Rio intersection. During the operation, the drill bit hit a 2-inch water pipe. The accident shut down water service to a SunTrust bank branch, officials said. The pipe break created a river of muddy water that flowed downward through much of the Albemarle Square shopping center’s parking lot. One construction worker was sitting nearby in his pickup with the window down. When the drill nicked the underground pipe, a wave of brown water shot out of the hole and arced directly into his truck. His white shirt was covered in mud stains. The project’s foreman said the water pipe had not been marked and that the accident was not his crew’s fault.
Link: "Busted water pipe spews 40,000 gallons on Rio Road"
Charlottesville Daily Progress
UF Accident #5557
Charlottesville, VA 05/22/2008
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Gas
UPDATE Crews boring for soil samples ruptured a gas line that sparked a blaze and touched off a series of explosions May 17. No injuries were reported. Total damages are estimated at $1 million. Workers for an Ohio-based paving company struck a 6-inch natural gas line at the Martin Marietta Aggregates complex at 15215 River Ave. about 8:20 a.m., fire officials said. It took approximately one hour for Vectren Energy to shut down the gas leak. At that point, gas which had flowed into a nearby storage building owned by Shelly & Sands ignited. Oxygen, propane and acetylene canisters stored in the building began exploding forcing firefighters to back off to a safe distance. Water had to be trucked to the site by fire department tankers. It took approximately 90 minutes to bring the fire under control. Thick clouds of black smoke could be seen for miles. Firefighters monitored the air for toxic emissions. Nothing dangerous was detected. The Shelly & Sands building and a paving machine inside were totally destroyed. Several employees’ cars parked nearby were also destroyed. Fire officials said the incident could have been avoided had the company contacted the One-Call center prior to digging.
Link: "Ruptured gas line sparks fire and explosions in Noblesville "
Noblesviille Daily Times
UF Accident #5536
Noblesville, IN 05/21/2008
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Gas
About 725 students at a local elementary school were evacuated after crews building a new playground accidentally hit a gas line. The students were taken to a nearby high school and returned to their school for dismissal. The evacuation was a precautionary measure . Columbia Gas Crews repaired that line.
Link: "Garfield Elementary School In Steubenville Evacuated Following Gas Line Rupture "
WTRF-TV
UF Accident #5543
Steubenville, OH 05/21/2008
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Gas
Construction workers broke a 4-inch natural gas line along Morris Avenue near Fox Hill Circle. The break occurred after 1 p.m. just outside Fox Hill Apartments. No evacuations were necessary. Morris Avenue already was closed for construction.
The rising plume of gas created a mirage-like distortion in the air and there was a noticeable smell for blocks. Residents at the nearby apartments couldn’t enter or leave the complex driveway, and they were told to stay inside and close windows and doors.
Link: "Natural gas line ruptured in south Bloomington"
Bloomington Pantagraph
UF Accident #5544
Blomington, IL 05/21/2008
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Gas
A ruptured gas line caused an explosion that completely leveled a vacant restaurant building causing a fire that took hours to extinguish, yet no serious injuries were reported. Hummelstown fire chief said three people were taken away by ambulances. All were treated and released at a hospital. Work was being done on curbs and sidewalks in the area and the explosion happened when a backhoe operator hit a gas line. Workers were behind a dump truck, which shielded them from flying debris. Dozens of fire trucks responded to the three-alarm blaze, which took well over two hours to extinguish once the gas was turned off. Some nearby buildings were damaged by the blast, but no other fires were reported.
Link: "Former restaurant explodes in Dauphin County"
Philly.com
UF Accident #5545
Hummelstown, PA 05/21/2008
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Gas
Arroyal Road in following a break in an underground natural gas line. The break was caused when construction crews at 2:12 p.m. punctured the underground line, said a spokeswoman for the Bonita Springs Fire Control and Rescue District. The road was closed from Bonita Beach Road to Carolina Street until Tampa Electric Co. workers could repair the break. The road reopened at 3:30 p.m. There were no injuries caused by the accident. However, a construction worker was taken to the hospital for treatment of a heat-related illness.
Link: "Bonita Springs road reopens following gas leak"
News-Press.com
UF Accident #5547
Bonita Springs, FL 05/21/2008
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Gas
A natural-gas leak at the Kendal at Granville retirement community caused the evacuation of four residences for about one hour. Landscape crews were planting a tree when they hit a gas line at about 11:30 a.m. Fire officials said the level of gas in the air was low because of the less-humid weather conditions. This leak was the second in the Granville area in two days. Columbia Gas hit a service line earlier in the week on South Mulberry Street at West Broadway while installing a new gas main, but no evacuations were ordered.
Link: "Granville gas leak forces evacuation"
Newark Advocate
UF Accident #5548
Granville, OH 05/21/2008
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Gas
Verizon officials said that the 200 to 300 customers who lost telephone service in the North End after the gas company hit a large cable on Dawson Street.
Link: "Severed North End phone lines should be fixed by 6 p.m."
SouthCoastToday.com
UF Accident #5553
New Bedford, MA 05/21/2008
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Gas
Traffic on Castle Hill Rd was in chaos for more than five hours after a gas main was punctured causing an explosion. The explosion occurred at about 2.30pm at the junction of Castle Hill Rd and Edward Bennett Drive. A police report said contractors working in the area accidentally hit a gas main, puncturing the line. Police officially shut down Castle Hill Rd at the heart of peak hour at 5.30pm and diverted traffic until the gas main was repaired at 7.45pm. No one was injured in the incident.
Link: "Broken main causes chaos "
The Hill Shire Times
UF Accident #5563
Castle Hill, New South Wales 05/21/2008
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Power
About 2,025 Xcel Energy customers in south Fargo lost electricity for less than an hour when a contractor hit an underground electric cable. The outage started at 3:40 p.m. after crews working near 13th Avenue and 23rd Street South hit the line, said an Xcel Energy spokeswoman. The outage covered an area bordered by University Drive, 25th Street South, Fifth Avenue South and 30th Avenue South. Power was restored at 4:30 p.m.
Link: "Power outage strikes south Fargo "
In-Forum
UF Accident #5540
Fargo, SD 05/20/2008
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Comm
A crew working on a road project severed a fiber-optic cable knocking out phone service to parts of southeastern Colorado for about three hours. A Qwest Communications spokeswoman said residents in Avondale lost 911 and toll service at around 2:45 p.m. A CenturyTel spokeswoman said some residents in La Junta, Lamar and surrounding areas lost phone service. Phone service was restored at about 6:15 p.m.
Link: "Cut in fiber-optic line interrupts service in SE Colo"
Examiner.com
UF Accident #5541
Avondale, CO 05/20/2008
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Gas
About 500 residents and business along Forbes Avenue lost power and left in the dark after a contractor reportedly working outside a substation dug up two underground cables. The power outage caused heavy delays for traffic trying to get into Oakland that morning.
Link: "Power Restored In Oakland"
KDKA 2
UF Accident #5542
Oakland, PA 05/20/2008
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Gas
An explosion leveled an unoccupied summer home in the Village of Bemus Point in Chautauqua County. A report released a day after the explosion reveals a town highway crew was doing some excavation work near the house when the explosion occurred. Investigators said a piece of concrete struck a gas line causing the line to separate at the curb. Gas then seeped into the basement of the home, triggering the explosion. One of the highway workers suffered some minor burns to his face and was taken to WCA Hospital in Jamestown for treatment. The explosion and resulting fire have left the home a total loss.
Link: "Investigators say Explosion that Leveled a Summer Home was an Accident"
WGRZ.com
UF Accident #5537
Village of Bemus Point, NY 05/19/2008
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Gas
Fire officials say construction workers ruptured a high-pressure natural gas line in downtown Culver City, causing evacuations at nearby stores and a theater. A construction crew was breaking up concrete when the mishap occurred. No injuries were reported.
Link: "Construction crew breaks gas line in Culver City"
Mercury News
UF Accident #5538
Culver City, CA 05/19/2008
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Water
Construction crews working on the expansion of Owasso High School ruptured a water main leaving a number of residents without water for about an hour. Owasso Public Works water department employees were able to redirect water for residents and businesses within 30 minutes. The break happened at about 10:30 a.m. This is not the first time a Crossland Construction crew has left the area without water. It has interrupted water service two other times.
Link: "Construction crews at high school break water main, water service restored "
Owasso Reporter
UF Accident #5535
Owasso, OK 05/18/2008
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Gas
A broken gas line sparked a large fire that destroyed a facility that belongs to a highway construction contractor. The blaze that gutted the building stemmed from a gas leak at Martin Marietta Aggregates, which is nearby, fire officials said. Workers were drilling at Martin Marietta on River Road north of 146th Street just after 8 a.m. when the gas line was severed. Authorities said that there were no utility markings in the area in which the workers were drilling. The leak fueled a fire in a storage building that also spread to several cars. Firefighters worked for about two hours to get control of the blaze. No one was injured, but an estimated $1 million in damage was done to the storage building, authorities said.
Link: "Broken Gas Line Sparks Large Fire"
The Indy Channel.com
UF Accident #5534
Noblesville, IN 05/17/2008
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Gas
More than 100 people were killed in a fire that engulfed homes and schools at Ijegun village in the Lagos district of Alimosho after a pipeline was damaged. Many of the dead included schoolchildren who were believed to be killed in the ensuing stampede as people fled in panic from the flames. More than 20 people with injuries and taken them to hospital for treatment, a Red Cross official at the scene said. The disaster was the latest in a series of pipeline explosions or blazes caused by damage or theft which have killed more than 1200 people since 2000 in Nigeria, the world's eighth largest oil exporter and Africa's top producer. The pipeline rupture at Ijegun occurred during work to build a road. A bulldozer moving earth struck the pipeline buried beneath the surface. The fuel leaking from the broken pipe caught fire and exploded, sending people fleeing in panic. At least 15 homes were burned. More than 20 charred vehicles caught in the fire were visible afterwards in the street, as firefighters and volunteers tried to douse the flames with sand and water after the explosion.
Link: "Oil pipeline explosion kills at least 100"
news.com.au
UF Accident #5523
Village of Ijegun, Nigeria, Africa 05/16/2008
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Gas
Three people were taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas after a gas line exploded in a McKinney neighborhood. Two houses in the 600 block of Fenet Street were destroyed by the blast, which occurred about 5:50 p.m. A third home was damaged in the explosion, officials said. The fire chief said the homes were engulfed in flames when crews arrived. Firefighters began working to remove those injured and then took a defensive stance against the blazes. The fire chief said workers, who were not among those injured, were boring underground along Throckmorton Street just north of Fenet when they struck the gas line. Gas apparently went into the homes and then ignited. An official with Atmos Energy said a gas contractor was responsible for the explosion. As firefighters doused a burning home on Fenet near Throckmorton, they also sprayed the area near the boring machine to help dissipate the natural gas. The fire chief said that was done in an effort to keep the gas from igniting from the burning home. Twenty-five homes were evacuated.
Link: "Three hurt in McKinney gas line blast "
WFAA.com
UF Accident #5532
McKinney, TX 05/16/2008
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Gas
UPDATE While no criminal charges will be filed in connection with a natural gas explosion that leveled a historic church last month, more rigorous safety procedures should be implemented for road construction projects statewide to prevent any similar incidents, according to the police chief. The chief said that his department should have notified as soon as there was a (natural gas) smell detected. The Police Department's investigative report on the explosion that destroyed First Baptist Church and two adjacent houses shows that no one from the construction crew or We Energies personnel at the scene called 911 to report a gas smell after an unmarked pipe had been ruptured during road excavation. A passer-by, at the prompting of an aunt she was visiting, called 911 at 1:19 p.m. to report "a natural gas smell so strong it made her nauseous and made her eyes water." Seven minutes later the Oconomowoc Fire Department arrived at the scene to find We Energies staff already there discussing the situation with the construction crew, which struck the pipe while installing a new sewer line in the road in front of the church. The explosion occurred at 1:32 p.m., six minutes after the arrival of Fire Department personnel. After the explosion, the state Department of Transportation, which is overseeing the reconstruction of Highway 16 through the city, put in place stricter safety protocols for the project. The new rules call for work to stop immediately if an unmarked pipe is found during excavating and for work crews to call 911.
Link: "Police report into church blast released"
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
UF Accident #5533
Oconomowoc, WI 05/16/2008
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Gas
A gas line that was ruptured at Eastern Connecticut State University caused several buildings on campus to be shut down. Yankee Gas employees were at the school all night fixing a line that was accidentally struck the previous afternoon. The line was ruptured when crews were pulling up stakes to remove a tent. The leak shut down part of campus near some dorms but it affected neither the dorms nor the school dining halls.
Link: "Ruptured Gas Line At ECSU Repaired"
NBC 30
UF Accident #5528
Williamantic, CT 05/15/2008
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Gas
A gas leak created by construction near the South Illinois Avenue overpass caused a 45-minute evacuation at a local business. The Madison Township fire department responded to a natural gas leak on South Illinois Avenue at 1:08 p.m. An Ohio Department of Transportation subcontractor was putting in a drainage tile and struck a 2- inch natural gas line with a backhoe machine. No one was injured or affected by the gas leak.
Link: "Gas leak evacuates Madison Township business for 45 minutes"
Mansfield News Journal
UF Accident #5529
Madison Township, OH 05/15/2008
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Water
Borough officials issued a “boil advisory” for much of the borough after a water main break on the East Stroudsburg University field hockey field affected customers throughout the borough’s water system. Contractors were working on the field when they hit the main at around 3 p.m. It took workers until around 5:15 pm. to get the main shut off. The break affected water pressure at Pocono Medical Center and other nearby buildings, particularly those located at higher elevations.
Link: "Water main break at ESU causes "boil advisory""
Pocono Record
UF Accident #5530
East Stroudsburg, PA 05/15/2008
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Gas
A section of Centreville Road was closed for a little over an hour as construction crews worked to repair a gas leak, Manassas police said. At around 11:45 a.m., a construction crew working near the intersection of Centreville Road and Weir place dug too deep and hit a buried gas line, a Manassas City police spokesman said. Centreville Road was closed from Liberia Avenue to Sudley Road as crews worked to repair the leak. By 1 p.m., the line was capped. Police opened the road shortly after the repairs were complete.
Link: "Gas leak shuts down Centreville Road"
InsideNoVa.com
UF Accident #5522
Prince William, VA 05/14/2008
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Gas
UPDATE The three children, who watched their vacation cabin burn with their parents trapped inside, will receive a settlement worth more than $21 million, according to court documents. The children and their adult relatives filed a suit in U.S. District Court in Green Bay claiming negligence caused propane explosions in a Door County resort community in 2006. The lawsuit names the resort, some construction companies, a utility and their insurance companies as defendants. The $21 million settlement reached May 6 will be split among the three children which includes 16-year-old twin boys and a 14-year-old girl. It will cover lawyers' fees and hospital bills and establish trust funds for them. The couple from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., died early July 10, 2006, while vacationing in a cottage with their children and other family members about 200 miles north of Milwaukee. Twelve other people were injured. They were asleep when several explosions rocked the resort about 2:15 a.m., court filings said. Door County officials have said an electrical contractor installing some underground electric lines for an upgrade of the resort's docks ruptured a buried propane line three days before the explosion. It wasn't clear what caused the propane to ignite.
Link: "Family gets $21 million settlement in Door County explosion"
Chicago Tribune
UF Accident #5524
Milwaukee, WI 05/14/2008
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Gas
A construction worker operating a backhoe accidentally severed a high-pressure natural gas line on Lafayette Boulevard forcing fire officials to close down a stretch of the downtown thoroughfare and evacuate nearby buildings for about 30 minutes. Shortly after 1 p.m., police and firefighters shut down a block-long section of Lafayette Boulevard, from the federal courthouse to the State Police barracks as odors of the chemically treated natural gas filled the air. They also ordered people to leave the federal building, Bob's Discount Furniture and the Housatonic Community College parking garage. The leak occurred in the driveway of 881 Lafayette Boulevard, a former medical office building that is being converted into a condominium complex. A construction worker apparently digging up the development's parking lot accidentally ruptured the gas line. Emergency crews from Southern Connecticut Gas Company were called to the scene and quickly stopped the leak. Firefighters began a building-by-building inspection to see if there was a dangerous of concentration of gas nearby.
Link: "Firefighters check gas line rupture "
Connecticut Post
UF Accident #5526
Bridgeport, CT 05/14/2008
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Gas
A gas leak on Westmorland Road caused city police and fire to evacuate several houses and businesses. A section of the east side street was also shut down in the middle of rush hour. Workers doing an excavation on the street struck a two-inch natural gas line near Mountain Road, puncturing the line. An area of approximately two blocks was evacuated for almost 90 minutes. Fire officials said the evacuations were simply precautionary. The pipe that was struck had been located by Enbridge for the contractor, but somehow the pipe was still struck and broken during the excavation. Pipeline officials said they go out and train contractors on safe digging, safe excavation practices for working around gas pipes.
Link: "Gas leak on east side prompts evacuation of homes, businesses"
Telegraph-Journal
UF Accident #5527
St. John, New Brunswick 05/14/2008
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Gas
Four blocks of 24 Avenue were closed for several hours after construction crews damaged gas lines. The lines were impacted by a crew working with an excavator at a project on 163 Street north of 24 Avenue. The damage caused gas to leak from two places. The 1½-inch line was damaged where there was contact with the machinery. The force of the damage pulled the 1¼-inch pipe from an eight-inch pipe, officials said. A Terasen technician was on-site within 10 minutes of the report. Repair crews were there within 20 minutes. No customers were affected during the repair. Any penalties for the damage will depend on whether the construction crew took steps to locate and map the pipes’ location before digging, a Terasen spokesperson said.
Link: "Gas leak closes street"
Peace Arch News
UF Accident #5514
White Rock, British Columbia 05/13/2008
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Gas
Fourteen people were evacuated from their homes following a natural gas leak in a residential neighborhood southeast of Washington University. A Missouri American Water crew installing a new water main accidentally struck a residential gas line about 11:40 a.m. in the 6400 block of Cecil Avenue, the fire chief said. No one was injured, the chief said. Fourteen people and three dogs who lived at the houses were evacuated to a nearby church until crews capped the line. Firefighters also stayed with a homebound resident who was unable to leave the house. Residents were able to return to their homes about 12:30 p.m., less than an hour after the line was struck. Crews checked the gas levels in affected homes and determined all readings to be normal.
Link: "Gas leak forces Clayton evacuation"
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
UF Accident #5513
Clayton, MO 05/13/2008
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Gas
The Boca Raton Fire department put out a fire in a home's front yard that was sparked by a gas line rupture. The fire broke out around noon after a Florida Power and Light crew struck a gas line when digging near the driveway, fire officials said. The fire department clamped the gas lines to stop the fire. The area near Boca Raton Community Hospital was closed to traffic for about two hours. No injuries were reported and no homes were damaged, including the home where the fire occurred.
Link: "Boca firefighters put out gas line blaze"
Palm Beach Post
UF Accident #5517
Boca Raton, FL 05/13/2008
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Gas
Firefighters evacuated homes along a half-mile stretch of Ocean Beach Road on Clark Lake as Consumers Energy fixed a gas leak. Men installing a vinyl, picket fence snagged a 4-inch gas line with a post-hole digger. Residents returned to their homes by about 6 p.m. nearly two hours after the accident. Firefighters cleared houses on both sides of the highly populated street from Riverside Road to N. Lake Road.
Link: "Gas leak repaired "
mlive.com
UF Accident #5521
Clark Lake, MI 05/13/2008
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Gas
The gas main which feeds Massachusetts Institute of Technology building called NW30 was broken at 2:30 p.m. by a crew working on the NW35 project. As a precaution, buildings NW21 and NW30 were evacuated by the Cambridge Fire Department. The workers were installing a storm drain when they broke the main. By 3:04 p.m., occupants were allowed back in to both buildings. During the leak, building NW30 lost gas for a brief period of time. The “all clear” was issued around 4 p.m., school spokesperson. The contractor said that Dig Safe had been called. According to the contractor, the area had been marked except for the area where the gas main was located.
Link: "Gas Leak Causes Evacuation of NW21 and NW30"
The MIT Tech
UF Accident #5515
Cambridge, MA 05/12/2008
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Sewer
Untreated wastewater began running into a drainage ditch at 3 p.m., according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, when a contractor installing a new sewer main broke the existing main. The drainage ditch flows to an unnamed tributary of South Beaver Creek. The city pumped wastewater to relieve pressure in the sanitary sewer. The actions also allowed employees to make repairs to the existing line.
Link: "Sewer line breaks; Wellsburg discharging wastewater"
WCF Courier
UF Accident #5516
Wellsburg, IA 05/12/2008
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Gas
Five homes were evacuated by police and firefighters following a natural gas leak. DTE Energy crews scrambled to repair a natural gas main that a backhoe perforated near Central Michigan University. Road construction workers struck the 4-inch main near Gaylord Street and Washington about 1 p.m.
Link: "Backhoe hits gas main "
The Saginaw News
UF Accident #5518
Mt. Pleasant, MI 05/12/2008
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Gas
A Wisconsin Public Service crew was restoring gas service to about 50 homes in the area in the 2800 block of Erie Avenue following a gas leak earlier in the day, according to the Sheboygan Fire Department. A City of Sheboygan public works crew struck the two-inch gas line about 2:50 p.m., forcing the evacuation of about a city block and shutdown of service in the area. The leak was stopped about 5 p.m., and WPS was going home to home to get service reactivated. People were allowed to go back to their homes after the leak was stopped, he said. The city crew was doing some sewer work in the area. Fire officials said the gas line that was struck was mismarked.
Link: "Gas leak on Erie Ave. stopped; residents back in their homes "
Sheboygan Press
UF Accident #5505
Sheboygan, WI 05/12/2008
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Gas
A ruptured Dominion East Ohio gas line forced evacuation of 20 homes and three businesses in the town into the late evening. The interim Springfield Township fire chief said workers from an excavating company hit the gas line at about 1 p.m. near the town square while working on a waterline installation project. The evacuees were being housed in St. John’s Lutheran Church until about 10 p.m.
Link: "Ruptured gas line forces evacuation in Petersburg"
Vindy.com
UF Accident #5506
Petersburg, OH 05/12/2008
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Gas
A few homes were evacuated for about 30 minutes after a two-inch gas line break at South Second and West Monroe streets. There were no injuries. A high-pressure gas line in the street was hit accidentally while water utility work was being done. Workers called in the incident. Texas Gas was able to stop the leak on scene without affecting customers. Austin fire assisted with the evacuation, cordoned off the area and stood by with hose lines in case of ignition while the gas company was plugging the leak
Link: "Gas Line Break Evacuates Few South Austin Homes"
The Austin American-Statesmen
UF Accident #5504
Austin, TX 05/10/2008
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Gas
A man working in his yard ruptured a natural gas while using a piece of heavy equipment. Fire crews and Union Gas officials were called to the area. The Rosewood Crescent resident removed a tree stump on his property using a backhoe. Apparently the roots of the tree were wrapped around the gas line, pulling it apart at the gas meter. Union Gas utility crews shut off the natural gas to the home and determined that none of the neighbors had been affected. The homeowner's gas line was temporarily repaired but will require a permanent replacement.
Link: "Gasline ruptures during stump removal "
Thunder Bay
UF Accident #5507
Thunder Bay, Ontario 05/10/2008
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Gas
Thousands of train riders were left stranded and commutes snarled for more than nine hours by a natural gas leak. The gas leak, at a Jeffrey Road construction site where a road underpass is being built, started when a work crew hit a gas line around 8:30 a.m. The workers were drilling for pylons, officials said, when they hit the pipe with an auger. Though rail lines were re-opened just before 6 p.m., officials were left scrambling to bus commuters around the closed lines after repairs took longer than expected. Wind blew the gas eastward, leading management of the nearby Meadows Mobile Home Community to voluntarily evacuate around two dozen of the parks 360 homes. Southern California Gas Company workers used jackhammers and shovels to dig toward the gas pipe in two separate locations, pinching it closed east and west of the leak to prevent the flow of natural gas through the damaged section. The damaged line was an 8-inch plastic gas main about 14 feet underground, 100 feet north of Jeffrey Road and 50 feet west of the train tracks, according to Orange County Fire Authority and gas company officials.
Link: "All train service resumes following Irvine gas leak"
OC Register
UF Accident #5499
Irvine, CA 05/09/2008
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Water
A water main broke on Stockdale Highway near Buena Vista Road at the Park at River Walk closing three lanes of Stockdale Highway and flooding the road. Construction crews were working on a backhoe when they hit the main water line and it broke.
Link: "Water Main Breaks On Stockdale Highway"
KERO 23
UF Accident #5501
Bakersfield, CA 05/09/2008
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Gas
A gas leak in Orange County stopped commuter trains from running, but no injuries were reported.
A Southern California Gas Company spokeswoman said a crew was excavating on Tustin street around 8 a.m. when it hit an 8-inch gas line. She said the line was under heavy pressure and began spewing gas. No evacuations were called. The break was located about 50 feet from a train line and Metrolink trains were halted until repairs were made.
Link: "Trains stopped by SoCal gas leak"
Mercury News
UF Accident #5502
Tustin, CA 05/09/2008
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Gas
The Portage Fire Department was on the scene of a gas leak in the south east end. Residents were evacuated from their homes while the situation was brought under control. The resident responsible on King avenue and 6th street south east had been digging a hole in his backyard when the rupture occurred.
Link: "Portage Residents Forced To Evacuate"
PortageOnline.com
UF Accident #5481
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba 05/08/2008
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Gas
Emergency service crews were called to a potential gas explosion after a 63-millimetre pipe on the corner of Hopetoun and Chapel streets in Bendigo was ruptured. The pipe was ruptured during excavation work in the area. A local gas company was engaged to dig down to the pipe and clamp the leak, near of one of Bendigo’s major arterial roads. Traffic disruption lasted for more than an hour, as roads leading to Chapel Street in the inner-box road system were blocked. The leak was safely plugged by about 10.30 am. Traffic was returned to normal shortly afterwards.
Link: "Burst gas pipe diverts traffic"
Bendigo Advertiser
UF Accident #5494
Bendigo, Victoria 05/08/2008
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Gas
A main road through the city of Springfield was shut down after construction crews hit a gas line. The incident happened around 9:30 a.m. on South Fountain Avenue between Columbia and Main streets. Officials said crews are installing fiber optic lines, but their equipment cut through a one-inch plastic service line. Columbia gas crews responded and had the line capped off in 45 minutes.
Link: "Construction Crews Hit Gas Line In Downtown Springfield"
WHIO TV.com
UF Accident #5495
Springfield, OH 05/08/2008
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Gas
About 40 homes were evacuated near the intersection of Unser and Bridge SW after a construction crew struck an underground fuel line, causing a sizable gas leak, officials said. Several of the homes were unoccupied when the line burst shortly after 11 a.m., meaning only about 20 people had to take refuge at Legacy Church on West Central, an Albuquerque Fire Department spokeswoman said.No one was injured. Public Service Company of New Mexico workers had the leak contained by 12:55 p.m., and the ruptured six-inch pipe was fully repaired by 4:30 p.m. Gas service was not interrupted for any PNM customers during the repair. The residents who had to be evacuated were allowed to return home after the repairs were completed.
Link: "N.M. residents grateful for firefighters"
Albuquerque Journal
UF Accident #5500
Albuquerque, NM 05/08/2008
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Gas
A man has died after he and five other workers were injured in a drilling rig blowout in a southwest Texas oil field. The man died a day after the blast three miles southwest of Carrizo Springs, officials said. All five of the others injured have been treated for their injuries and released, said a spokesman at Brooke Army Medical Center. The Premium Oil Co. drilling crew was working the rig when the drill bit hit a gas pocket, said the Carrizo Springs fire marshal. The bit caused a spark that ignited the gas about 10 a.m.
Link: "1 of 6 hurt in oil field gas explosion dies "
Houston Chronicle
UF Accident #5503
San Antonio, TX 05/08/2008
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Gas
A backhoe hit and broke a natural gas line at North 15th Street and 27th Avenue North. MidAmerican Energy Co. spokesman Mark Reinders said a 2-inch-diameter gas line was severed.
Firefighters and police stood by at the scene until utility crews were able to turn off the flow of gas. No evacuations were necessary. The incident was reported at 12:03 p.m. Emergency personnel were on the scene for about 45 minutes. Utility workers spent much of the afternoon making repairs. Three nearby apartment buildings were without gas service.
Link: "Gas leak stops traffic in Fort Dodge"
Fort Dodge Messenger
UF Accident #5488
Fort Dodge, IA 05/07/2008
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Gas
A Kensington school was evacuated due to a gas leak. About 35-40 fire and rescue personnel responded to The Holy Cross Academy, located at 4920 Strathmore Ave., after receiving a call around 9:30 a.m. to report the gas leak. Fire and rescue teams, including hazmat personnel, remained on the scene monitoring the gas leak. No other homes or businesses in the area have been affected. The gas leak happened after a backhoe struck a 4-inch gas line located on a driveway just outside the main entrance to the school.
Link: "Holy Cross evacuated after gas leak"
Gazette.net
UF Accident #5489
Kensington, MD 05/07/2008
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Gas
A gas line gave way as workers installed sump pumps on the side of the road. Crews spent much of the day securing the gas and pinch of the pipe. They had to bring in special tools to handle the metal piping. Firefighters checked nearby homes to ensure the gas didn't spread.
Link: "Gas Line Breaks"
KSFY.com
UF Accident #5490
Sioux Falls, ID 05/07/2008
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Gas
Students at Urbana Middle School were kept inside the school for several minutes past dismissal time after a construction crew hit a gas line on Michigan Avenue on the south side of the school. Urbana firefighters asked the students to remain inside the school while they monitored the area and the building for natural gas, said a fire division chief. Then students were dismissed through the north entrance to the building. The gas was shut off to the middle school and the Indoor Aquatic Center, but Ameren expected to have it back on within the hour. Firefighters continued to monitor the sewer system for natural gas.
Link: "Urbana Middle School students stay late after gas leak"
The News-Gazette.com
UF Accident #5492
Urbana, IL 05/07/2008
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Gas
Bartow firefighters had to close Hendry Avenue from Main Street south one block to Summerlin again after construction crews cracked open a natural gas line for the second time in as many days. One day earlier, the city evacuated three businesses in that downtown area for about an hour while workers from Central Florida Gas repaired the broken line. The current damage was not quite as bad and didn't require evacuations, fire officials said. City crews were installing water lines along that block of Hendry Avenue and it is laden with utility lines that never have been identified on maps. The hit-or-miss element of the job has worked against the city's crews, a fire official said.
Link: "Workers Hit Gas Line in Bartow Again"
The Ledger.com
UF Accident #5493
Bartow, FL 05/07/2008
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Power
A contractor suffered severe electric shock after he hit 11,000 volts of power while working on the Church Street bridge. The 22-year-old worker, from Wallan, was operating a hammer drill that hit a 11,000 volt cable embedded in the pavement. A police spokeswoman said the worker, whose clothing caught fire in the incident, was taken to The Alfred hospital with non-life threatening burns to his face and hands. Paramedics were called to the scene of the blast, which was initially reported to be a gas explosion, in South Yarra just before 8:30 a.m., a Metropolitan Ambulance Service spokesman said.
It was unclear why the contractors did not know there was a high-voltage cable in the footpath. WorkSafe is investigating the incident with Energy Safe.Cars were prevented from crossing the bridge for two hours, causing early morning traffic jams, and 174 CitiPower customers lost power for an hour.
Link: "Power worker hit by 11,000 volts"
theage.com.au
UF Accident #5480
Melbourne, Victoria 05/06/2008
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Gas
A construction crew working on the White Street beautification project hit a gas line rupturing a 4-inch line and sending emergency personnel and a Yankee Gas repair crew rushing to the site. The accident occurred about 10 a.m. near the Superior Court building, but no one was injured and none of the surrounding buildings, including the courthouse, had to be evacuated. A Yankee Gas crew was on the scene in about 20 minutes and sealed off the leak until another crew arrived to make permanent repairs, a spokesman said. That work took several hours to complete. It was the second time in a week that a gas line broke on White Street. On April 29, another crew hit a line a short distance away while reconstructing the White Street railroad crossing. The first leak was more severe than the second and forced the evacuation of several businesses near the crossing. No traffic delays resulted from the accident because cars were already being detoured around the site due to the railroad work. The area where the break occurred had been marked by Yankee Gas under the Call Before You Dig program. Officials said workmen weren't digging in the area when the break occurred. Instead, they had rested the bucket from a piece of construction equipment on the ground above the gas line, and the pressure fractured what the city engineer said was "an old cast-iron pipe."
Link: "Another gas line ruptures on White Street"
The Danbury News-Times
UF Accident #5483
Danbury, CT 05/06/2008
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Gas
A gas main break shut down Route 1 in both directions for a short time. A construction crew hit the gas main, disrupting gas service in the area. Southbound Route 1 traffic was detoured at the Lynn Fells Parkway, and northbound traffic was rerouted at Main Street. The roadway was fully reopened just before 11 a.m. No evacuations were necessary.
Link: "Gas Main Break Closes Route 1 "
WCVB TV 5
UF Accident #5484
Saugus, MA 05/06/2008
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Gas
Fire and Rescue were on the scene of a 2" gas line break. Reports indicated that construction company struck the line earlier in the afternoon. Two homes were evacuated.
Link: "Homes evacuated due to a gas line break"
Tampa Bay
UF Accident #5485
East Manatee County, FL 05/06/2008
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Gas
Rush hour traffic on U.S. 19 snarled in both directions north of Jasmine Boulevard for about 70 minutes while emergency crews worked to plug a natural gas leak coming from the Congo River miniature golf course construction site. The highway was blocked north of Gulfview Square mall from about 4:40 p.m. until just before 6. Traffic backed up as motorists squeezed through detours laid out on narrower side streets. Guests at the adjacent Holiday Inn Express were evacuated for a shorter period of time while emergency workers waited for a Tampa Electric Co. crew to shut down the gas line. The leak was first reported at 4:24 p.m., according to Pasco County Fire Rescue officials. Traffic on U.S. 19 was halted in both directions between Jasmine Boulevard to the south and Coventry Drive to the north. The leak occurred when a bulldozer doing the final grading on a strip of land between the golf course and the Holiday Inn struck an unmarked underground gas pipeline, said a spokesman for the developer. According to him, a construction supervisor called to have all the utilities marked, but that gas line was unmarked.
Link: "U.S. 19 Open After Gas Leak Is Fixed"
Tampa Bay Online
UF Accident #5486
Port Richey, FL 05/06/2008
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Gas
Traffic was rerouted around four blocks of downtown for an hour and 10 minutes after a city public works department backhoe hit a natural gas line in an alley between Florida and Hendry Avenues. At least three businesses were evacuated while Central Florida Gas workers repaired the leak. Businesses farther from the leak were notified of the break, but were not evacuated.
The accident occurred at 2:40 p.m., and repairs were completed at 3:50. The police, fire, and public works departments blocked off traffic on Main Street and Summerlin Street between Jackson and Wilson Avenues. Gas rushed from the broken line with a loud “whoosh” for the better part of an hour. The gas company repair crew initially plugged the broken gas line with a half-inch wooden plug, then put a permanent cap on the line. The city crew was using a backhoe to prepare for installation of a new PVC water line to several offices in the 400 block of East Main Street. Water service to those businesses feeds from the alley behind them. Replacing the old cast iron pipe will raise water pressure, city workers said.
Link: "Downtown Gas Line Break Empties Businesses"
The Polk County Democrat
UF Accident #5487
Polk County, FL 05/06/2008
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Comm
Roughly 1,700 Telus customers were without telephone service after a construction crew working in Mayerthorpe accidentally severed a Telus fiber optic cable while excavating to repair a waterline. Long distance and 911 services were affected. Emergency workers in the town were notified about the phone disruption. By 3:15 p.m. that day, Telus had repaired the cables and service was fully restored.
Link: "Phone service disrupted"
Whitecourt Star
UF Accident #5491
Mayerthorpe, Alberta 05/06/2008
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Gas
A construction worker dove from the vehicle as it engulfed in flames after striking a gas line. The worker was working as a level hand behind the 30 tonne bitumen stripper when its rotary blade hit an underground gas pipe in Belgrave Street, Cremorne shortly before 9 p.m. Flames engulfed the vehicle within seconds singing the worker's beard as he fled. The massive blaze sent a balloon of gas, hazardous diesel and hydraulic fumes into the air above nearby residences. Twenty people from surrounding units were evacuated. As the blaze continued to burn a 1500 litre gas tank attached to the stripper also ruptured sending bursts of flames into the air. Fire fighters doused the tanker with water, hoping to cool the area before gas flow could be stemmed to the area. Agility Gas were called to excavate the road in order to clamp underground nylon gas pipes feeding flammable gas to the area. A crane was required to remove the damaged excavator from the scene. Nine fire vehicles from Neutral Bay, Mosman, Crows Nest and The Rocks were called to the scene. HAZMAT teams also attended.
Link: "Road worker Billy Agillus escapes as machine explodes"
The Daily Telegraph
UF Accident #5472
Sydney, New South Wales 05/05/2008
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Gas
A gas leak at the Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole forced the evacuation about 600 people and prompted officials to close down several surrounding roads. At 9:17 a.m. county firefighters received a call that a gas line - 3 to 4 inches in diameter - was struck during construction work at 1910 Annapolis Towne Centre Drive. The gas line was nicked while crews were chopping-up the cement pad that had been used to stabilize the crane involved in a fatal accident prior week. The workers had the gas line shut off by 11 a.m., though officials were still searching the building under construction for potential gas trapped in some of the enclosed floors. Emergency crews evacuated the entire site as well as nearby areas.
Link: "Gas line accident prompts evacuation"
Annapolis Capital
UF Accident #5473
Annapolis, MD 05/05/2008
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Gas
A ruptured gas line at the CVS construction site on Highway 96 caused police and fire crews to shut down traffic between Fortress Boulevard and Blaze Drive for less than 30 minutes. A construction worker was digging a ditch with a backhoe when he struck a 1.5-inch pipeline, owned by Atmos Energy. Atmos workers closed off the ruptured pipe just before 10:45 a.m. The stretch of road was shut down for precautionary reasons. The stretch of Highway 96 between Fortress Boulevard and Blaze Drive was closed between 10:30 and 10:50 a.m.
Link: "Traffic resumes on Fortress following gas line rupture"
The Daily News Journal
UF Accident #5474
Murfreesboro, TN&nb |
