TROY — The city closed part of 15th Street and evacuated a home Wednesday while repair crews worked to stop a gas leak, police and firefighters said.
Construction workers hit a gas line at about 9 a.m. in front of the defunct Knotty Pine, which is undergoing renovations to become a new business, fire officials said.
The workers hit the underground line, rupturing it and sending gas into the air.
Fire Chief Eric McMahon said no one was injured. Firefighters ran hose lines as a precautionary measure while police shut down 15th Street to allow National Grid crews space to fix the line.
Firefighters evacuated 2257 15th St., knocking on doors to get residents out as a precaution.
“I had firefighters knocking on my door,” said Eric Kelly, 23, a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute student. “They told me to grab my coat and my dog and get out fast.”
Kelly said he could smell gas when he walked outside. He and his dog, Harper, stood at 15th and Eagle streets watching the scene unfold.
Fifteenth Street was closed between Eagle and Hoosick streets. The location of the break is just north of the RPI campus in a neighborhood where many students rent.
Also evacuated from 2257 15th St. was Luke Bell, 36, with his dog, Chase.
The firefighters showed up at my door,” said Bell, who grabbed his pet, crammed clothing into a backpack and headed out.
McMahon said the utility workers were digging up the pipe to close off the leak. A special vacuum truck was brought in, he said, to help remove dirt quickly.
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