Advertisement 1

Tillsonburg gas scare: Swift evacuation after London explosion

Article content

When lightning strikes, you get out, especially if there’s gas in the air.

Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content

When it happens days after the massive London explosion that consumed part of a street, making headlines around the world, you go even faster.

An area of Tillsonburg containing about 60 homes was evacuated early Sunday after lightning zapped a tree down to its roots, severing a natural gas line and leaving a lawn on fire with the smell of gas in the air.

Article content

“It looked like a barbecue, it almost resembled that,” deputy fire chief Tony Hietkamp said of the area around the tree that firefighters found burning on Kara Lane.

“It was bubbling up from the lawn,” he said.

Firefighters quickly evacuated the area.

While some were hesitant to leave their homes so early, just after 3 a.m., Hietkamp said memories were fresh about last week’s explosion in London’s Old East Village after a car crashed into a house and severed a gas line before the fireball that followed, a blast that ultimately destroyed three homes and damaged others. Seven people were injured.

“A lot of people moved quick,” Hietkamp said.

No one was hurt in Tillsonburg, and natural gas service was cut off to 125 homes to allow repairs.

Gas distributor Embridge said the lightning strike travelled through a tree root and damaged the gas line, something spokesperson Andrea Stass called “a very unusual occurrence.”

Residents were able to return to their homes later Sunday.

Article content
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Latest National Stories
    News Near Tillsonburg
      This Week in Flyers