Dozens of 100 Mile House residents had to vacate downtown homes and buildings because of a nearby natural gas leak on Sept. 4.
FortisBC employees worked on a natural gas line near 100 Mile Junior Secondary School on Cedar Avenue when a fitting blew and a large leak started around 11:15 a.m., explains 100 Mile House Fire-Rescue chief Darrell Blades.
“They were pretty fortunate because the welder was in the hole and just starting to weld when it blew.”
The 400 block of Cedar Avenue was evacuated, including a daycare, apartment complexes, residential buildings, the library and the South Cariboo Business Centre.
A strong sulphur-like odour hung in the air downtown for hours and the area was cordoned off by local RCMP.
(Natural gas is odourless, but a chemical called mercaptan is added to give it a rotten egg-like smell so the potentially deadly gas can be detected.)
Thirty-one people registered with the District of 100 Mile House, which set up a reception centre at its office on Birch Avenue, not far from the evacuation area, where they were fed dinner.
The evacuation order was lifted around 8 p.m.
Blades praised first responders and the work by FortisBC in stopping the leak and thanked residents and businesses for their patience.
City administrator Roy Scott was also pleased with the work of first responders.
“We have very well-trained people. The co-ordination between the emergency services, in terms of fire and police, was excellent. The co-operation was outstanding. The emergency support services were up and running.”
Members of the public also handled the situation well, Scott adds.
“I've been involved in a number of emergencies and there wasn't a single irate individual that I saw [in this case]. They understood this was a necessity and was for their own safety.”