DANGER FROM GAS LEAD AVERTED BY QUICK ACTION

POPLAR BLUFF -- An explosive situation was defused quickly Wednesday evening after a natural gas line was broken on Gardner Street.

Residents were evacuated from their homes for about an hour while Missouri Natural Gas crews repaired the line, which reportedly was broken when new poles had been erected earlier in the day.

"It's my understanding that a subcontractor for the electric company was setting fire poles and accidentally hit a gas line," said Fire Chief Randy Hastings.

The crews had broken a feeder line, not the main one, Hastings said. "It was a significant leak," he said. "You could hear it and see it moving dirt between the cracks in the concrete."

The crews were not aware at that time that the break had occurred, Hastings said. It was a resident who detected the odor at about 6:30 p.m. and "alerted all of us," he said.

After the arrival of the foreman from the gas company, Wallace and Shift Commander Boyd Coleman evacuated residents on Gardner between 10th and 11th streets for safety reasons.

Residents were asked to leave their homes as they were, Hastings said. They were not allowed to do such things as turn off lights because that had the potential of igniting the leak.

People also weren't allowed to use their cars either, he said. Many were picked up in the next block by family or friends and taken out of the area.