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December 7, 2006

Update: Bulldozer ruptures Pawtucket gas line

PAWTUCKET – A gas main break late this morning on Grotto Avenue caused an evacuation of a nearby condominium complex.

The gas has since been turned off, and no one was injured, according to fire marshals at the scene of the break.

“The area is safe now,” National Grid spokeswoman Debbie Drew said in a phone interview.

Contrary to an earlier report, the nearby Nathanael Greene Elementary School in Pawtucket was not evacuated. Children on the playground two-tenths of a mile from where the gas main was ruptured were told to go back inside, fire marshals said.

The gas main was ruptured during construction work at a commercial condominium complex under construction at 241 Grotto Ave. The owner of the property, Nick Africo, was operating a bulldozer and ran over a two-inch plastic gas line installed a couple months ago. Fire marshals at the scene said they could hear the gas whistling out of the pipe when they responded to the incident.

National Grid turned off the gas. No one lost service since the line hit was for the condominium complex under construction, Drew said.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer John Castellucci and projo.com

Posted by Kate Bramson  at 2:50 PM | Permalink

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