An early morning natural gas leak in central London is under control after a car struck a building and drove off early Wednesday morning.
The incident happened at around 3:02 a.m. in the area of 470 Ridout St. N., said London Fire Department platoon chief Gary Mossburger, leaving significant damage to an external natural gas line. Emergency crews, along with Enbridge Gas and London Hydro, were immediately sent to the scene.
“Initially because of the substantial amount of gas leaking in the area, we had requested for London Hydro to shut down an area of hydro to all that part of the grid to eliminate any potential ignition sources for us,” said Mossburger.
An alert was sent to around 1,800 individuals, he said, notifying them to close their windows and stay in place until told otherwise. By around 6:00 a.m., crews were able to isolate the gas line and restore power.
Active Incident – Natural Gas Incident – 400 block of Ridout St N. LFD crews along with LPS are on scene of a significant natural gas leak due to a vehicle striking a building. An @alertlondon notification has been sent as we work to mitigate this leak. ^gm @CityofLdnOnt…
A second alert has been sent to residents saying everyone is able to normal operations, with hydro being reconnected and the gas shut down.
A portion of Ridout Street North was closed due to the high amount of emergency vehicles in the area but will be opening back up to traffic.
There have been no reported injuries, said the London Police Service. The investigation into the whereabouts of the driver is ongoing.
