Dozens Of Homes Evacuated After South Philly Gas Leak
By Matt Rivers
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Officials say over two dozen homes had to be evacuated Saturday following a gas leak in South Philadelphia.
This happened around 5:00 p.m. along the 2200 block of South 8th Street near Jackson Street.
Fire department officials say they got a call after a strong odor was detected. When they got there, they were forced into action.
"We evacuated approximately 28 homes and 50 residents," Deputy Fire Commissioner Richard Davidson says.
Anthony Seaborn was one those displaced residents. He said firefighters went door-to-door making sure people got out:
"They came to our house and said we had to evacuate the house."
The residents forced from their homes could do little more than simply watch and wait:
"I'm a little mad 'cause I've been out here for awhile," displaced resident Eric Moore tells CBS3 Eyewitness News.
PGW crews dug and drilled and took air quality readings for hours looking for a leak. In the end, they found two leaks -- the larger one right in front of Francis Scott Key Elementary School. Firefighters kept watch as crews went to work patching things up.
"We make sure that we have enough personnel and equipment to mitigate any incident," Davidson said.
All of the people forced from their homes have been allowed back to their houses. No injuries were reported.
Crews were still working late Saturday night to fix things up.