Weather Blamed For Gas Leak In Lawrence
LAWRENCE (CBS) – Lawrence residents are frustrated and frightened after another gas leak. The weather appears to be a factor in the leak that occurred in the area of Haverhill and Ames Streets Wednesday night.
"I can't believe we're having this issue again, it's really scary," resident Jenny Collado said.
Another Lawrence gas leak, this time on the city's north side, closing the road while Columbia Gas crews again dig into the ground to fix it.
"I left my house the last time it happened," Collado said. "So I came over here with my son because it was just scary being there. You never know what's going to happen."
Nobody was evacuated, but Collado is keeping the kids away from the house near the leak to be safe.
"I understand the frustration and the fear," said Lawrence Fire Chief Brian Moriarty.
Moriarty said the change in weather likely caused one of the old cast iron pipes to crack and leak.
Columbia Gas is halfway through a 10-year process of replacing all those old pipes with new, safer material.
"Columbia's efforts are constantly to provide safe and reliable service to our customers," said Kelly Merritt of Columbia Gas.
The city of Lawrence is still on edge because of the deadly 2018 gas explosions. Chief Moriarty said the department got more than 100 gas related calls just last month.
"We do have a hyper awareness," Moriarty said. "We went through a disastrous event, and did it quite well, but it was disastrous."
Because it was a grade one leak, crews had to fix it immediately.