By Fred Pace
Several buildings in the Raleigh County Memorial Airport Industrial Park near Philpott Lane in Beaver were evacuated Tuesday after a natural gas main was ruptured by a utility company working in the area.
“A utility worker digging behind one of the buildings here with a backhoe struck a 1-inch main line, causing a high-pressure gas leak,” said Larry Rice, chief of the Beaver Volunteer Fire Department. “It was ripped in half.”
Rice said the evacuation was a precautionary measure.
“You don’t want to take any chances when there’s a gas leak of this nature,” he said.
Rice said Mountaineer Gas was called to the scene to repair the line.
“An out-of-state utility company, Pike Electric, accidentally hit one of our gas lines,” said a spokesperson for Mountaineer Gas. “We were able to repair the line quickly.”
The leak occurred at approximately 11:30 a.m., Rice added.
The Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department was also called to the scene to help with motor vehicle traffic.
— E-mail: fpace@register-herald.com
