Chattanooga firefighters man a hose Wednesday on Central Avenue. Several businesses on Central Avenue were evacuated in the morning after construction workers broke into a 2-inch natural gas line at the corner of East 16th Street and Central Avenue, according to fire department spokesman Bruce Garner.Map
Gas leak
Chattanooga firefighters evacuated six businesses and shut down several blocks of Central Avenue on Wednesday after a private construction crew broke a 2-inch gas line at the corner of East 16th Street and Central Avenue.
Chattanooga Gas employees spent about an hour an a half working to stop the leak after it was reported at 10:32 a.m., and were forced to use jackhammers and backhoes to dig down to the break.
Employees sealed the leak at 11:55 a.m., according to fire department spokesman Bruce Garner.
While they worked, Chattanooga firefighters blocked Central Avenue from Main Street to 18th Street. The natural gas spewed quickly from the leak, but was quickly dissipated by fairly heavy winds.
Capt. Scott McCullough said from the scene Wednesday that routine gas leaks take about 30 minutes to contain.