Almost 1,000 Peoples Gas Customers Without Service Due To Leak
Follow KDKA-TV: Facebook | Twitter
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) – Hundreds of families in Moon Township are without heat and some were forced out of their homes due to a gas leak Saturday.
A quiet morning on Western Avenue was disrupted by a major gas leak. Lex Camisi says it happened at a meter about 100 feet from his front door.
"We heard a pop this morning. It was more like, it wasn't an explosion, but it was almost like a gun going off. Then everything started happening. The cops came," he said.
Peoples Gas spokesperson Jackie Ziemianski says the cause of the leak is under investigation.
"One thought is it could possibly be from land movement from the change of weather, but that's currently still under investigation," she said.
Camisi says the smell from the leaking gas was unbearable.
"You couldn't be around it. You couldn't be nowhere near it because it just took your breath away. I'm surprised it didn't explode. It was bad," he said.
Eight homes were evacuated, but 980 customers were left without gas service.
"Everything is out. Furnaces, temperature in the house is dropping and [it's] still a little chilly out here, for sure. I think it's about 30 [degrees] still, so yeah. The hot water is out," neighbor Ron Simon said.
"Hope it stays warm all day. Hope they get it fixed shortly," neighbor Cory Cicchelli said.
Workers shut off the gas and repaired the leak, but the gas company has one more task.
"We're working on our deployment plan to get our customer service men out there. They'll have to go to each home individually to take care of the service. Once the plan is out there, we'll be updating our website with information for our customers," Ziemianski said.
A warming center is open at the Moon Municipal Center.
