Brooklyn, CT – Firefighters evacuated a portion of Fairway Dr this afternoon after an excavator struck a gas line causing a natural gas leak.
At approximately 11:15 a.m. on Tuesday, May 7th, 2024, the East Brooklyn Fire Department and Mortlake Fire Company were dispatched to the area of 28 Fairway Dr for reports of a gas leak caused by construction equipment. With both departments consisting of volunteers, the Danielson Fire Department and South Killingly Fire Department were requested to supplement manpower and assist with evacuations.
When crews arrived on the scene they discovered an excavator had struck a line at the end of a driveway and natural gas was being released into the air. Eversource Gas was immediately requested to the scene to mitigate the issue. While crews awaited Eversource, the decision was made to evacuate all homes within 500′ (approximately 4 houses in each direction) as a precaution. Crews metered the area, and surrounding structures to ensure gas levels were not near explosive limits. The location of the break, and the weather, allowed the gas to travel up into the air instead of pooling at or below ground level which would cause the gas level to near explosive levels.
Eversource arrived on the scene within approximately 30 minutes but due to the location of the in-ground shut-off, the decision was made to await a secondary crew to seal off the broken line. Crews remained on the scene for approximately 2.5 hours before the leak was mitigated. During this time Fairway Dr remained closed with multiple homes evacuated.
No injuries occurred as a result of the incident.
Agencies that responded included the East Brooklyn Fire Department, Mortlake Fire Company, Danielson Fire Department, South Killingly Fire Department, and Eversource.
