Gas Line Hit During Excavation

On Tuesday, May 16th a private contractor hit a gas line shortly after 11:00 a.m.

A Graybar employee called 911 reporting the incident. Ladder 6 initially responded to 1301 W. Badger Road, a large commercial dwelling. While in route to the scene, firefighters could detect the smell of natural gas several blocks away. The Lieutenant immediately upgraded the call to a full fire response.

The building was going through a demolition remodeling project, when an excavator broke an active 1" high pressure gas line.

The firefighters initial concern was life safety of the workers and employees in surrounding businesses. The area was protected by law enforcement and fire personnel as evacuation procedures commenced. At the same time, MG&E located the gas shut off and was able to stop the flow of natural gas to the source of the hazard.

Due to the coordination and rapid response from MFD, MPD and MG&E, the hazard rapidly mitigated and evacuation did not occur.

No injuries to report as a result of this incident.