Ruptured gas main forces hundred from homes in Halifax

Hundreds of north-end Halifax residents were forced from their homes for several hours Saturday morning due to a ruptured natural gas main on Bloomfield Street.

The leak was caused by a building contractor digging in the area and was reported to Heritage Gas at about 8:40 a.m., company spokesperson Chris MacAulay said.

Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency, along with police, went door to door to ask people to leave the area.

"Basically, we've evacuated the block between Northwood Terrace, Bloomfield Street and Gottingen, down to Black Street," said Lloyd Currie, a division commander with the fire department.

The evacuation included 120-unit building on Almon Street. No injuries have been reported.

Heritage Gas shut down the gas flow at about 10:25 a.m. and residents were expected to begin to return to their homes shortly, MacAulay said.

Anne Elliott-Tomlinson, a resident who had to sit outside because of the gas leak, said she and others had to wait for 45 minutes before a bus was brought in so people could be comfortable.

She said a nearby restaurant then brought over coffee. "I thought we were treated very respectfully," she said.

The leak also closed parts of Bloomfield and Gottingen streets to vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

A Halifax Transit bus was at the scene to provide somewhere for displaced people to get information.

Heritage Gas will investigate the cause of the incident and the results will be reported to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board, MacAulay said.

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