The latest in a succession of gas leaks rattled a Westbrook neighborhood Tuesday, and led to evacuations and the closure of Main Street – the second time in less than a week.
After an excavator hit an inactive gas line at 11-13 Speirs St., public safety officials evacuated several homes and closed Main Street to traffic for about 45 minutes.
The same thing happened five days earlier, on Oct. 18, at 7 Speirs St.
James Phelps, who owns Phelps Excavating, was doing to the digging on Tuesday when he hit the line. He described the experience as nerve-wracking, knowing that any moment something could ignite or a house could explode.
Phelps was working on installing a fire main to run into the old St. Mary’s School, which Legacy Parenting Co. is renovating. The direct-response marking company intends to move out of its offices in the Dana Warp Mill when the work is completed. Phelps said the lines were not marked.
Fred Bever, communications director for the Public Utilities Commission, said an investigator was sent to Speirs Street to determine if there were any safety violations, but no further information was available Wednesday.
“There are some very, very old records on Speirs Street,” said Sheila Doiron, Northern Utilities spokeswoman.
She said a number of buildings on the street no longer existed, and the gas lines that led to them are still in place, though they lead to nowhere. The recordkeeping on older gas lines isn’t as accurate as today’s recordkeeping, she said.
Doiron said the gas leaks are related to the coming winter and the rush to get construction done.
“This is the time of year when construction is at its height,” she said.
Doiron said Northern Utilities surveyed the rest of the street on Tuesday and the company is confident the contractor is clear for the rest of the project.
The two gas leaks in the past week come on the heels of an Oct. 10 leak at the intersection of Spring Street and County Road, where constructions crews again hit a gas line.
On Oct. 8, construction in a building in Cape Elizabeth severed a gas line and caused an area evacuation.
On Oct. 1, a home in South Portland exploded from a gas leak caused by construction. In that case, a Public Utilities Commission investigation filed a probable violation against Northern Utilities, citing gas lines being marked in a “reckless or negligent” manner. The PUC recommended that Northern Utilities pay the maximum fine of $5,000 to the state.
Earlier incidents include a ruptured gas line in Biddeford on Sept. 15 due to construction, and a ruptured gas line leading into a house in Westbrook on Aug. 15 due to a mishap with a lawn mower.
The Public Utilties Commission announced earlier this month it was launching an investigation into Northern Utilities management of gas safety.
“Ensuring public safety is first on the list of the commission’s duties in overseeing regulated utilities,” said Kurt Adams, commission chairman, in a PUC press release.
The PUC said it was basing the investigation on the incidents in South Portland and Cape Elizabeth, as well as an incident in Saco in April that resulted in the evacuation of 92 homes, businesses and a residential care home.
Staffer writers Leslie Bridgers and Kate Power also contributed to this report.
Cutlines (gas leak 1) excavator.
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(gas leak 3)
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