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Minor gas leak causes evacuation

• A contractor told fire investigators that he was working on a septic tank when he accidentally struck a gas line, reports show.

J.D. Sumner

ALBANY — A break in a small natural gas line caused a brief scare in an Albany neighborhood Friday morning, fire officials said.

Around 10 a.m., Stacey Butler, a contractor from Sylvester called emergency officials after he struck a natural gas line while operating a backhoe in the rear of a home at 304 Rosser Lane, fire reports show.

According to those reports, firefighters initially called for the evacuation of that block, but according to Albany Fire Chief James Carswell, first responders and Water, Gas and Light crews were able to plug the leak before wholesale evacuations were needed.

"It's my understanding that our people got there and decided to immediately evacuate the area but when Water, Gas and Light got there and contained it before anyone really had to stay out very long," Carswell said.

Residents were asked to stay out of the area for about 30 minutes, reports show.

According to the fire report, Butler accidentally struck a half-inch natural gas line while trying to work on a septic tank on the property.

"Our biggest fear is that there would be an ignition source and that could lead to an explosion," Carswell said. "It sounds a little far fetched, but we would much rather read headlines about some people being temporarily evacuated than someone being killed in an explosion."

Carswell credited the quick response from WG&L crews to mitigating the threat to that neighborhood.

By 11 a.m., a little more than an hour after being called, fire crews rolled away from the scene, the report shows.

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