Workers hit gas line in 15th Street project

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BY CHUCK VANDENBERG

PCC EDITOR

FORT MADISON - Construction crews apparently hit a gas line at about 1:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon on the 15th Street road construction project.

Fort Madison firefighters, MidAmerican crews, and construction workers were on the scene of the rupture as gas continuously poured loudly from the line on the east side of 15th Street just past the 200 block at the start of the hill.

Dustin Foley, a resident in the 20o block, said it was a very loud explosion.

"I was just putting my grill on and BOOM, it shook the house and the windows. I turned around to see what happened and I think it must have thrown dirt over a 100 feet in the air," he said.

Foley said firefighters evacuated him from his house in addition to three other homes around the sight of the rupture.

Firefighters had run a hose run to the location of the eruption in case anything were to ignite while workers with MidAmerican and Jones Contracting Corp. of West Point worked trying to get the gas shut off.

City Public Works Director Larry Driscoll was unavailable for comment.

Fort Madison Firefighters standby as gas pours from a ruptured line on 15th Street Thursday afternoon. Workers from the construction firm and MidAmerican talk just up the hill. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC.

 

Fort Madison firefighters and MidAmerican crews work on a ruptured gas line Thursday afternoon. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC.

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15th Street, Firefighters, fort madison, gas line rupture, MidAmerican Energy

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