Sep 12, 2006 By Christine Haines 3 min read

BROWNSVILLE – Two fire companies and an ambulance service were called to the 1400 block of Water Street Monday afternoon, but fortunately, their emergency services were not required. A crew from JR Contracting was digging up the street to install a new sewer line when a 2-inch steel natural gas line was ruptured.

Columbia Gas was immediately called to the scene and the line was plugged, but there were concerns about the possibility of the gas building up in nearby homes, including two personal care homes on the block.

“We were monitoring to make sure there wasn’t any danger,” said Vince Yadouga, the field operations leader for Columbia Gas.

Billie Jo Mitchell, an employee at one of the care homes, said a gas company employee check the line at the care home, but never told her that a line had been ruptured and didn’t say whether any precautions needed to be taken.

“I really need to use the stove. (The residents) have to eat before they take their medicine,” Mitchell said.

Yadouga had one more check of the house done of the care home around 4 p.m. before letting the care home staff know it was safe to use the gas stove.

Yadouga said Columbia Gas will look into how the line managed to be cut. He said JR Contracting had contacted the gas company prior to the excavation, and all the lines were to be marked.

“They had put their One Call in and we came out and marked where we thought our lines are. It’s much more difficult in the old towns because there is so much under the streets,” Yadouga said.

Under Pennsylvania’s One Call requirement, anyone doing excavation work must contact One Call and all utilities serving the area are to mark their underground lines to prevent them from being damaged.

Matt Ferri, the site superintendent for JR Contracting, said this is the first problem his crew has had with an improperly marked line on Water Street.

“One Call was made. The gas line was 14-feet-6 inches off the mark. We’ve crossed it a dozen times already. We broke it once on Monongahela (Street) where it was marked wrong, but this is the first time it was in the wrong place on Water Street,” Ferri said.

Brownsville Ambulance Service Inc., South Brownsville Volunteer Fire Department and Brownsville No. 1 Fire Department responded to the scene, but no evacuations were required.