Gas leak leads to evacuation in Wellsburg (W. Va.)

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http://www.weirtondailytimes.com/page/content.detail/id/571227.html


Approximately 25 families were evacuated Saturday morning, and several businesses, including the Brooke County Courthouse, were closed after an eight-inch natural gas line was broken by city crews.

Mayor Sue Simonetti said a street department crew was starting to repair a catch basin near 4th and Yankee streets when they hit an unmarked gas line sending natural gas spewing into the air.

"The gas line was not marked properly and our crew had no idea it was there. Fortunately no one was injured by the gas leak and the evacuation of that neighborhood went very smoothly," Simonetti said.

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"We also had to close the courthouse which was a minor inconvenience because today is the final day of early voting for the gubernatorial race. But almost everyone who was turned away because of the evacuation returned to vote after the area was declared safe and the courthouse re-opened," said Fowler.

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shouldn't heads role for not marking a gas line properly? could have been a huge disaster and if it had happened a week later it would have been during the Apple festival.