Construction crews in Downtown Rochester hit a gas line today while putting in a driveway off Ferndale Avenue. Rochester Police and Fire were on the scene quickly and closed Ferndale Avenue from Main Street to N. Pine Street and evacuated area residents as a precautionary measure. Fire Chief John Cieslik told Rochester Media that fire crews were ready should something happen. Chief Cieslik said air checks for natural gas were being conducted and a safe radius of 150 feet was being enforced.
Ferndale Avenue (from N. Pine Street) Closed due to gas leak – photo by Michael Dwyer
The area had a strong smell of gas and a loud hissing noise could be heard from a safe distance away. The noise was the gas escaping from the broken line.
Rochester Fire and Police Departments on the scene of the gas leak on Ferndale Avenue in Downtown Rochester – photo by Michael Dwyer
Bloomingdale Construction told Rochester Media that a gas line should be at least two-feet down and the subcontractor was only down six-inches installing a driveway at one of this construction site in town.
Residents and construction workers keep a safe distance from the gas leak – photo by Michael Dwyer
UPDATE: Consumers Energy arrived at the scene at approximately at 11:00 a.m. Repairs were completed just after 12:30 p.m. “Nobody was hurt, no injuries, and after we checked the area for natural gas, the area was released back to the residents. And they were back in their homes around one o’clock,” said Chief Cieslik.
A Statement from John Bloomingdale, co-owner of Bloomingdale Construction:
“Regarding the gas leak at 124 Ferndale today I just wanted to say that our sub-contractor had the unfortunate situation of hitting the gas line on the property that he was working on for us. He is a responsible contractor who always does things by the book and is very adamant about doing a good job, but never sacrifices the safety of the job, his employees, and the neighbors in the area. He was, and probably still is pretty shaken up with the events that transpired today.”
“The absolute most important thing is that no one was hurt! Consumers Energy did a fantastic job of repairing the gas line along with the lighting fast response of the Rochester Fire Department and Police department who always do an outstanding and professional job to keep all of us safe in this community.”
“We at Bloomingdale Construction always strive to do the best job we can in the safest manner possible. We care about our customers and every single person that works on our projects. What I am most upset about what transpired today is the disruption to the neighbors who live on Ferndale. We know what happened today was an inconvenience to them and that it was also scary for them and their children. We would want those neighbors and any future neighbors of our projects to know that we are going to do our absolute best to not interrupt their lives and make sure that our projects are safe for everyone involved. We truly appreciate the type of people that make Rochester the best place to live and work,” said Bloomingdale.
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