Fire contained after explosion from gas leak in West Columbus
Fire contained after explosion from gas leak in West Columbus:– Hours after a fiery explosion rocked a west Columbus neighborhood, the blaze has been contained, according to fire officials.
Firefighters were called to the scene at 2857 West Broad Street, a shopping center that houses a Domino’s Pizza, Doctor’s office, Buckeye Ranch office, and a post office around 2:30 p.m.. Authorities began evacuating nearby buildings shortly after getting to the scene.
A construction crew working in the area hit a high pressure gas line, which caused the Domino’s to fill with gas. Domino’s was evacuated safely.
Around 5:30 p.m., some of the roads in the surrounding area of West Broad Street and Hague Avenue began to re-open..
Eastbound lane of traffic has reopened on Broad Street next to Hague pic.twitter.com/KJxptQeHRJ
— Bryant Maddrick (@Bryantwsyx6) December 21, 2016
About an hour before that, police were going around the neighborhood telling residents to go back and stay in their homes over fears a second building could explode.
Police are telling people who live in area to stay inside their homes and telling others to leave area. pic.twitter.com/JC5tZOKMn5
— Bryant Maddrick (@Bryantwsyx6) December 21, 2016
UPDATE: 2nd alarm called for fire after gas leak on West Broad near Hague. Buildings nearby evacuated pic.twitter.com/1AUXAjk4eO
— WSYX ABC 6 (@wsyx6) December 21, 2016
Nationwide Children’s Hospital confirms their Hilltop Primary Care Center was also affected. A spokesperson tells ABC 6/FOX 28 all of the staff, patients, and their families are safe.
Domino’s workers tell ABC 6/FOX 28 they were smelling gas and were checking the business for where it might have been coming from when they saw a construction crew outside running away. The workers said that’s when they decided to leave the building and as they did they saw the building “blow up”.
TowerCam shows the smoke from the gas fire on the west side… LIVE coverage now on @wsyx6. pic.twitter.com/qYk47DNdem
— Marshall McPeek (@MarshallMcPeek) December 21, 2016
Team Fishel, the company responsible for the digging that ruptured the gas line, released a statement on behalf of their Director of Safety and Human Resoures, Craig Mathes:
While performing work at 2857 W. Broad Street in Columbus earlier this afternoon, a Team Fishel crew struck a gas line. The incident resulted in an explosion which impacted a number of local business and residents in the area. Our Teammates responded appropriately and aided in a swift evacuation of the area. We are thankful that there were no serious injuries reported. Our focus right now is on the safety of everyone impacted by this unfortunate incident. Team Fishel is on site working in collaboration with authorities to determine the cause of the incident.
The company provides services for utility engineering, construction, installation and maintenance.
Source:-Â http://myfox28columbus.com/news/local/breaking-two-alarm-fire-on-west-broad-street-after-gas-leak
