Gas Leak Shuts Down Spring Road

Emergency personnel from the Huntington and Halesite fire departments responded to report of a broken gas line at Elm Street and Spring Road late Wednesday afternoon.

Police said a worker from Mayer's Landscaping lost control of a large lawnmower because of a possible brake failure, causing a gas line leak.

"You could see the skid marks leading right up to the house," said Roger Koreen, an Elm Street resident.

Huntington fire personnel attempted to turn the gas off from the street control but the dirt on top of it was compacted. They attempted to use high-pressure water but even that didn't unlodge the compacted dirt.

National Grid workers arrived not long after and were able to access the controls and turn off the leak before entering the house to take a reading.

"Most houses have street access to turn it on an off. The tool is almost like a key that you use to turn off the valve," said Jeremy Brite of National Grid. "We took a reading already and it's less than one percent now. Anything over five percent is high. So it's good. Most of it spilled outside."

Fire personnel gained access to the house, empty but for a cat, through a window as they were unable to enter house, owned by James Morris, from the front door because it was locked.  Firefighters opened all the home's windows and a large fan was installed by the front door to push any existing gas out of the house.

Spring was closed for over an hour from Platt Place, just south of Main Street, to Gaines Street, just south of Elm.

Suffolk police on the scene said they were taking extra precautions because of the potential for explosion was strong and the memory of a blast on Carley Street on November 11, 2006  is still fresh in the minds of emergency personnel workers.

On that date, the Huntington Fire Department responded to a call for a gas leak at 21 Carley Avenue at about 2:30 p.m., according to an account on FireRescue1.com

A contractor excavating with a backhoe accidentally ruptured a natural gas service line, causing the gas to leak in the home's cellar, where the fumes ignited and caused the explosion. The contractor alerted the homeowner, who fled the house with his two dogs moments before the gas ignited and explosions ripped through the home.

The initial 911 call was followed minutes later by several calls reporting that the house had exploded. Third Deputy Chief Ken Cochrane arrived within three  minutes of the alarm and found a partially collapsed structure, just as a second explosion occurred and completely leveled the two-story wood frame house, creating a gas-fed fire.