A Belleville Firefighter stands on Front Street, during a gas leak evacuation, on July 25, 2016. (Photo: Twitter / @BellevilleFire)
UPDATE @ 9:30 p.m.: According to the Belleville Fire Department Twitter account, crews have to clear and restore service to each building downtown, so it’s going to take some time. They estimate the entire scene won’t be clear until likely after midnight.
Now that power has been restored at Belleville City Hall, staff there have given an update on Monday afternoon’s gas leak situation.
According to a media release, contractors working on the downtown portion of the Build Belleville project, ruptured a six-inch gas main on Front Street.
Emergency crews set up a command station at Pinnacle and Campbell Streets and gas and hydro services were cut off.
Residents and workers were evacuated by city transit, from an area stretching north from Bridge Street to Station Street and from Coleman Street, east to Church Street.
Anyone who is being kept from the area and needs a place to stay can go to the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre, where officials from Hastings County Social Service, the city and the Health Unit are on site to help.
At this point, city staff say “the site is secure and Union Gas will be repairing the line shortly”, but no firm timetable was released.
People are still being asked to stay away from the immediate downtown core until it’s declared safe to do so.
We’ll have more updates here as the situation unfolds.
