Hurricane Health and Rehabilitation residents evacuated after reported gas leak

ST. GEORGE — Some 50 residents of Hurricane Health and Rehabilitation were evacuated Thursday morning due to a natural gas leak.

Fifty residents of the Hurricane Health and Rehabilitation were evacuated Thursday morning due to a natural gas leak, Hurricane, Utah, June 16, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Hurricane Valley Fire and Rescue, St. George News

Hurricane Valley Fire Chief Tom Kuhlmann told St. George News they received a call at 8:35 a.m. that a construction worker accidentally damaged a gas and sewer line at 416 N. State Street.

“We had a construction worker digging with a mini-excavator and he damaged the gas line and the sewer line both,” Kuhlmann said. “An inch-and-a-quarter gas line was struck, which caused natural gas to free flow at the corner of the building.”

He said that the Fire Department started evacuations because Questar didn’t know how long it would take to shut off the gas. The residents of the rehabilitation center were bused to the Hurricane City Community Center. Washington County School District and Valley Academy buses were also utilized.

The contractor was completing work when they damaged a 11⁄2 inch gas line and a 4-inch sewer line causing the gas line to emit free flowing natural gas and the sewer line to leak sewage on on the property of Hurricane Health and Rehabilitation, according to a press release.

Kuhlman then explained the procedures they go through when a gas leak occurs.

“We seal off the building. We have gas monitors we take inside the building to make sure the gas isn’t coming in,” Kuhlmann said. “But because we couldn’t get an estimated time for the gas to be shut off, we started evacuations just in case something changed.”

According to witnesses on the scene, one block on either side of state Route 9 was blocked off. Traffic was detoured away from the emergency scene by Hurricane City Police and Utah Department of Transportation. Other surrounding structures were also monitored for the presence of natural gas, according to a press release.

Residents of Hurricane Health and Rehabilitation were able to return to their rooms once Questar and fire crews determined each room was safe to enter.

Ash Creek Special Services District assisted with the free-flowing sewage from the building’s damaged sewer line which let Questar crews safely restore the natural gas to the building.

There were no injuries resulting from the gas leak. Damage was limited to the gas and sewer lines, according to a press release.

In addition to Hurricane Valley Fire District, Hurricane City Police, Valley Academy, Washington County School District, Questar Gas, Ash Creek Sewer District, Hurricane City Recreation and Utah Department of Transportation also responded to the scene.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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