STRUTHERS Gas-line break causes homes, businesses to be evacuated

By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
STRUTHERS -- Friday was not an ordinary day for several city residents.
More than 100 homes and businesses were evacuated Friday morning after a construction crew ruptured a gas line on Sexton Street.
The crew was working on an addition to the Davidson-Becker Funeral Home when a backhoe operator for Hively Construction Co., Canfield, struck a 4-inch gas main just after 11 a.m., police said.
Per orders from the fire department, everyone within a half-mile radius of the break was evacuated until workers from Dominion East Ohio could cap it, said Ed Villone, a Struthers police captain and the first emergency worker on the scene.
Six off-duty Struthers police officers and officers from Poland Township were called to help the fire department and on-duty Struthers police officers notify residents and block access roads, Villone said.
Demyan's Auto Service & amp; Towing also used its trucks to block access to roads leading to neighborhoods surrounding the break, Villone said. Transit Service Inc. volunteered buses and drivers to help evacuate residents.
"We were going to use school buses, but the schools were closed today," he said.
Residents within a half-mile of the break were asked not to start their cars because a spark could cause an explosion.
Overtime costs
Residents were transported to Struthers High School and St. Nicholas Parish Center. Some also were taken to the city administration building, Villone added.
Two day-care centers were among the businesses evacuated.
Dominion East Ohio had the broken line capped by 12:18 p.m., and residents were permitted to return to their homes. Gas service was restored to all of those affected.
Collectively, off-duty Struthers police officers incurred about 24 hours of overtime as a result of the accident.
Eight off-duty firefighters also responded.
Exactly how much the overtime for off-duty police officers and response pay for firefighters will cost has not been determined.
But it might not cost the city a cent.
If it turns out that the construction company was at fault for rupturing the gas line, "it is my understanding that they will be responsible for reimbursing the city," Mayor Dan Mamula said.
kubik@vindy.com