10 houses evacuated following ‘major’ Springfield gas leak

SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - Families were evacuated from their homes Thursday on Carver Street in Springfield as crews responded to a gas leak.

Emergency crews, including the Springfield Fire Department and Eversource, responded after a gas line was cut. Jess Knight, one of the contractors that was working on the house, described the moment his crew realized something was wrong. “We immediately smelled the gas and got out of there, which could have gone a lot worse,” he said. “Our lives were definitely in danger, so we got out of there and called emergency services.”

Springfield Fire Commissioner BJ Calvi said the construction crew was unable to turn the gas off before leaving the house and firefighter arrived on-scene a short time later. “So there was no way to control the gas flow inside the house, so they had gas free flowing in the residence,” he explained.

It turned out to be a bigger project. In order for the gas line to be controlled, Eversource crews had to dig up the street in order to control gas flow into the house. The power was also shut off temporarily to prevent any electrical sparks.

According to the Springfield Fire Department, we also know that 10 houses in the area were evacuated as a precaution, Eversource was able to isolate the leak, and gas crews remained on-scene to restore gas to the home

Those who were evacuated also had the opportunity to wait on PVTA buses to stay warm until the scene was secured. They were allowed to return to their homes about two hours later.