Northpinellas: Pinellas digest

LARGO -- A dozen homes were evacuated and one person was taken to a hospital Thursday afternoon after workers caused a gas leak in a Largo neighborhood. A construction crew working on a storm drainage system severed a 2-inch line with a back hoe about 3:40 p.m. near 20th Avenue SW and Trotter Road, said Pat McGinley, district chief of the Largo Fire Department. A 22-year-old woman was taken to a local hospital for precautionary reasons after complaining of dizziness and difficulty breathing. Clearwater Gas employees clamped the leak and residents were allowed to return to their homes within about a half-hour, McGinley said.

Top floor of hospital building evacuated

DUNEDIN -- The top floor of the Medical Arts building at Mease-Dunedin Hospital was evacuated briefly Thursday afternoon when someone smelled smoke. Firefighters searched for a cause of the smell but couldn't find any fire. Fire officials said the smell may have come from a coffee pot, said Chief Bud Meyer of the Dunedin Fire Department. Meyer said employees on the eighth floor, which houses administrative offices, had already started to leave the building when fire crews arrived after the 2:51 p.m. call. He said the evacuation went smoothly. Six fire engines, two tanker trucks, one squad, two district chiefs, the fire chief, a training chief and an ambulance responded to the hospital. No one was injured.

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