Friday, Oct. 30, 2009

West Main reopens after gas leak forces 6-block evacuation in Belleville

BELLEVILLE -- A wall collapsed at a house, severing the natural gas line and forcing emergency crews to close West Main Street and evacuate a six-block area for about an hour Friday morning.

Police at 11 a.m. Friday reopened West Main Street between Illinois 157 and 95th Street. Fire and police departments responded about 9:30 a.m. Friday to the gas leak in the 9800 block of West Main Street.

The natural gas leak happened when a basement wall collapsed at a home, breaking a fuel line there. An Ameren worker shut off the gas at the home at 10:25 a.m., said Victoria Busch of Ameren Illinois.

Linemen shut off electricity at four surrounding homes. The power was restored to those homes by 11 a.m.

"With natural gas, you can't take any chances with ignition points such as electrical services," said Assistant Fire Chief Steve Klingler.

Klingler was not certain of the total amount of damage to the home. "It appears like it's just that west wall of the house," he said.

The owner of the home at 9827 W. Main St., Billy Johnson, said his wife, Linda, heard the basement wall collapse shortly after 9 a.m.

"I'm quite sure it was mine subsidence," Johnson said. "Every time it rains, I get a shift."

The house sits on the north side of the street. The back yard is a steep downward hill.

Johnson's PT Cruiser, parked in his gravel driveway alongside the two-story house, slid into the house when the ground and wall gave way. A tow truck was needed to remove the car.

Last spring, contractor and neighbor Larry Monroe, of 9823 W. Main, helped Johnson trim doors in his house after the house shifted during a rain storm.

"Good thing nobody was hurt," Monroe said Friday while holding an umbrella for his friend as the pair examined the damage to the house.

Johnson said: "The good Lord spared me and my family, so I'm good."

Fire crews responded to the leak; police officers helped to divert traffic, Belleville Police Capt. Don Sax said.

Emergency crews used the Hyper-Reach telephone emergency notification system to evacuate all residents and businesses within a six-block radius of the leak. The notification system dials all the home phone numbers simultaneously with an automated message. By 10:45 a.m., the system had called residents to tell them they could go back home.

"It's precautionary," Sax said. "If they've got a gas leak, gas is highly explosive... Too much inhaling it can kill you. There's the possibility of inhalation and explosion."