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Gas leak leads to evacuations in Chester

Posted August 15, 2014 11:00 pm

By Pete Spitler The Herald Tribune

CHESTER -- It's the type of situation no homeowner would want to wake up to.

A power line on Swanwick Street in Chester fell on and ignited a nearby van and street sign early Saturday morning, which resulted in the rupture of a nearby natural gas line and mandatory evacuations of a four-block radius of the 1500 block of Swanwick.

"The public was really good," said Chester Fire Chief Marty Bert. "We had the city department set up barricades and everybody came together real well and took a complicated situation and made it pretty easy."

Bert said between 50 and 60 houses were evacuated and close to 500 gas meters had to be shut off.

"There was a street sign next to the van," Bert said. "The power line fell onto the street sign, which caused electricity to puncture the ground and cause a rupture."

Bert said Chester and Ellis Grove firefighters were toned out at 5:25 a.m. for the report of a downed power line. They discovered the street sign had welded itself to the natural gas line.

That led city police and fire representatives to begin evacuations at 6 a.m. Bert said initial evacuations began with a one-block radius due to the fire, but were expanded when the gas leak was discovered.

"We had to let the car burn because there was a live wire down," Bert said. "The fire kept coming back in a certain area and we found out it was natural gas."

The Chester Fire Department continued to post updates on its Facebook page throughout the day Saturday and fire and gas department officials were going house-to-house into the afternoon and evening hours making safety checks.

James Brockmeyer, Josh Straight, Gary Rust and Superintendent Jeremy Homan were Chester Gas Department employees helping to diffuse the situation.

"We were able to crimp off a two-inch line at one end and had a four-inch line at the other end and the tool wasn't big enough," Bert said. "Because of that, we had to shut off more gas meters."

Bert said crews had to endure a delay because they are not certified to weld a natural gas line. A company from Olney was brought in to do the work.

Chester Police Chief Ryan Coffey said his department's role was to assist the fire department with traffic control and evacuation efforts.

"From our department's standpoint, the other city departments worked together well, especially in terms of ensuring the safety of residents," Coffey said.

Both Bert and Coffey said they weren't sure why the power line fell. A possibility of thunderstorms was forecasted for Saturday, but officials have ruled out weather as a cause.

Multiple agencies assisted the Chester Gas Department in restoring natural gas service to residents, including Nashville, Pinckneyville, Red Bud and Ameren.

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