News

Actions

Chesterfield firefighters battle hazardous condition, heat

Posted at 1:39 PM, Jun 21, 2012
and last updated 2012-06-21 13:39:27-04

CHESTERFIELD, VA (WTVR) – A gas leak in Chesterfield  County forced the closure of a portion of the Woodlake Village Parkway loop.  The leak also led to the voluntary evacuation from one family living nearby.

Close to eight Chesterfield County firefighters not only battled the hazardous condition, but they also had to deal with the heat.

"We are going to back off, rehab our people, get out of this gear and cycle through if we need to," said Battalion Chief Bryan Swanson.

Battalion Chief Swanson said a construction crew accidentally punctured a six-inch line, which could be seen bubbling up through the ground.

"We have some hose lines in place in the event we would have to dissipate some of that vapor cloud at all," said Swanson.

The area where the gas leak happened, is a few yards from Cloverhill Elementary.  Fortunately school is out for the summer.  But also nearby are homes in the Moss Creek Subdivision of Woodlake.  The area is where Robert Stump was headed Thursday morning before he too was turned around.

"The road is closed off," said Stump.

Despite the nearly hour-long work delay, Stump said he understood it was safety first.

"They do a pretty good job," said Stump.  "I guess if it was worse they wouldn't have us this close."

Jennifer DeBois with Columbia Gas of Virginia said the leak did not require service to be shut off in the area.  DeBois added it remains unknown how long it will take to repair the gas line. 

Stay with CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for updates.