Evacuation ordered after gas leaks

By JANEL STEPHENS

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 13, 2001

TARPON SPRINGS -- A gas leak Tuesday afternoon prompted fire officials to evacuate residents from two condominiums off Meres Boulevard for an hour.

About 90 residents were told to leave the Marina condos and the 800 and 900 buildings of the Green Dolphin Condominium Villas, west of Alt. U.S. 19.

Tarpon Springs and East Lake firefighters, along with Pinellas County's hazardous materials unit, responded to a call at 2:22 p.m.

The leak occurred as construction workers were installing drainage lines along Meres Boulevard between Virginia Avenue and Alt. U.S. 19. They hit a 4-inch natural gas line buried 2 to 3 feet deep.

Workers reported the break immediately, and gas leaked for about 45 minutes before being contained, according to Tarpon Springs fire Lt. David Sharp.

"We had good winds, so we really didn't get a gas buildup," Sharp said.

Along with the condos, fire officials also evacuated several businesses along Pinellas Avenue, sending their employees a block north to Morgan Street.

"Someone from the fire department came in and told us there was a gas leak and that we had to go," said Debra Altman, a driver for One Stop Auto at 902 Pinellas Ave. "We didn't even have time to take our vehicles." Altman said that she had to evacuate her job for about an hour.

Officials said gas could be smelled as far east as Safford Avenue and as far north as Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

The roads around the leak were reopened at 5:30 p.m. No one was injured or complained of feeling sick as a result of the leak.

Tarpon Springs deputy fire Chief Kevin Bowman said that it is standard procedure to evacuate an area in close proximity to a gas leak.

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