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GAS LINE BREAK SHUTS DOWN AREA NEAR HHS

By Lightning Reports, Published: July 11, 2023

A gas line break near the Hendersonville High School auditorium shut down Bearcat Boulevard and parts of Oakland and Buncombe streets Tuesday while crews worked to plug the line, the city of Hendersonville said.

"They're expecting to be out there another couple of hours due to where the gas line was hit," city spokeswoman Allison Justus.

Crews were installing a sewer line when the break happened at about 10:10 a.m.

A city public works crew was working on the line when it hit a large gas line about 9 feet underground.

"The unfortunate part for us is it's being fed from four directions," Fire Chief D. James Miller said.

A Dominion Energy crew raced to the site to shut off the four lines feeding broken gas line so they could complete the repair. First responders evacuated a daycare center and relocated 20 children to Immaculata School, Miller said. Everyone else in the area was told to shelter in place. Hendersonville High School was not affected because school is out.

Miller said another concern was ambulances' access to Pardee's emergency room because of the Bearcat Boulevard closure. In addition to the gas fumes, firefighters endured the heat in heavy turnout gear and rotated in and out of the area to avoid complications from working in the heat, Miller said.

"The city of Hendersonville is in command there," county Emergency Services Director Jimmy Brissie said. "We've been monitoring it, we're in communications with them. They're addressing all those concerns. As of right now, we have no concerns" about a wider emergency or need for evacuation.

The Henderson County Rescue Squad was on the scene to "rehab" firefighters as they rotated out of the "hot zone." This time of year, it's typical for the rescue squad to respond to all fires because of the risk firefighters face of dehydration and heat stroke, Brissie said.

 By 2:20 p.m., firefighters had left the scene of the break, but Dominion crews continued to work on repairing the line. Parts of Bearcat Boulevard and Oakland Street remained closed.

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