FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A broken water main led to the discovery of a ruptured a gas line, Thursday morning in Fort Lauderdale.
Natural gas escaped into the air, forcing some residents to stay inside their homes instead of leaving for work, near Southwest Fifth Court and 31st Avenue.
“We didn’t know what happened until the captain came over a moment ago,” said evacuated resident Wilberk Williams. “He banged on the door, let us know that there’s a gas leak and we have to evacuate.”
According to officials, the gas line ruptured just after 8 a.m. Fire rescue crews warned residents to not start their cars because it could create an explosion. “We had to grab our stuff and get on,” Williams said. “We couldn’t drive the car, we couldn’t start the car because it could be ignited, so he just told us to get out of the house and walk.”
Crews initially responded to a water main break. In their search for the break, they discovered the broken gas line. “Through the investigation, they had to start taking the ground away,” said Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Gregory May. “In the process of taking the ground away, they were like ‘Whoa, we have a four-inch gas line that’s cut.'”
7SkyForce HD flew over the scene where fire rescue crews and a hazmat team worked to cap the gas leak and repair the water main.
According to officials, a construction crew was working on the main and accidentally hit the line.
The gas leak was capped and repaired at around 9:47 a.m.
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