Mike Carr, a platoon chief with the Saint John Fire Department, speaks to reporters following a natural gas leak in east Saint John on August 13, 2019. (Photo: Brad Perry/Wave News)
Several businesses had to be evacuated Tuesday morning after a natural gas leak in east Saint John.
The Saint John Fire Department was called to On The Vine on Hickey Road shortly before 10:40 a.m.
Platoon chief Mike Carr said they determined the leak was actually behind the business on Bruce Lane.
“What happened was they [contractors] were digging and they scratched the pipeline,” said Carr. “It wasn’t a full breach.”
Carr said the line in question was a four-inch natural gas line. According to the department’s response plan, they evacuated businesses within a 100-metre radius.
“Some of the houses that are nearby, we chose to get them to shelter-in-place — which means that they stay inside, close the doors, close their windows — because that was safer than actually moving them through the gas cloud,” he said.
Crews are on scene of a natural gas leak in the area of Loch Lomond Road and Hickey Road in #SaintJohn. The road reopened to traffic just a short time ago. pic.twitter.com/Ozhls0tMXR
— Brad Perry (@BradMPerry) August 13, 2019
The intersection of Loch Lomond Road and Hickey Road was also shut down for just over an hour. After preliminary testing, Carr said they were able to reduce the evacuation zone to 60 metres and reopen the road.
All of the affected businesses were open again by early Tuesday afternoon but Carr anticipated it would take Enbridge Gas New Brunswick crews the rest of the afternoon to repair the line.
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