Portable torches are being used to burn off the gas in order to empty the malfunctioning underground tank.
SEYMOUR — There were no injuries reported as of 3 p.m. Wednesday after a 1,000-gallon, underground propane tank sprung a leak on Garden Street.
Several houses were evacuated as a precaution. Officials estimated about a dozen people were impacted.
The tank served a multi-family house at 30 Garden St.
According to Fire Marshal Timothy Willis, firefighters responded to a call of a reported gas leak around 10 a.m.
“Upon arrival crews found a local propane company on scene with a 1,000-gallon underground propane tank with a leak,” Willis said in a press release. “The tank was determined to be approximately 80 percent full.”
Police and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) were called in to assist with the situation.
Neighboring Oxford Fire Department was called in to bring a fire engine to town to provide coverage while Seymour fire crews were on the scene at Garden Street.
Willis said after consulting with DEEP, a decision was made to burn off the propane vapors to empty the tank. Torches were set up and connected to the tank from nearby French Park (away from houses and people) and were used to burn off the gas.
It’s a process that could last five hours. Click here for a previous Valley Indy story about how fire departments train for propane emergencies.
Officials said the tank had just been filled. The FD is adding water to the propane tank to push the gas out quicker.
“The best course of action was determined to be a propane flare that will burn off all of the product in the tank,” Willis said. “This may take a substantial amount of time and is expected to last into the evening. There are no injuries and there is no threat to the neighbors. Residents will be allowed to return once the product is safely burned off.”
An image from Citizens’ Engine Co. No.2 Facebook
First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis said a resident initially smelled propane.
“The resident smelled gas and immediately called the landlord, who called the fire department, and those quick actions saved what could have been a much worse situation,” Drugonis said.
Drugonis was hopeful residents of 30 Garden St. and the adjacent home could return to their homes by early evening.
“Other residents are free to come and go as they please, but no through traffic will be allowed,” Drugonis said in an earlier post on the town’s Facebook page.
A CODE Red announcement is slated to go out to residents of the Garden City neighborhood to keep them updated on the situation, Drugonis said.
