DAVISVILLE - A few dozen homes were evacuated Monday evening when a gas line on Anderson Road in Davisville caught fire, officials said.
Eastwood Volunteer Fire Department and Wood County Sheriff's Office responded to 140 Anderson Road, off W.Va. 47, around 5:15 p.m. when a gas line caught fire.
Sgt. P Naegele, with Eastwood Volunteer Fire Department, said a resident was burning leaves in a ditch at the edge of his property, near the road, when the fire began.
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Photo provided by Eastwood Volunteer Fire Department
A gas line at 140 Anderson Road, off W.Va. 47, caught fire Monday evening, causing an evacuation of homes.
No injuries were reported.
"There was a small explosion," he said. "As a precaution, we got people out of their homes until the gas company could come and turn off the gas."
Sheriff's deputies and fire officials knocked on doors within a half mile radius from the gas leak and evacuated the area.
A temporary shelter was set up at a nearby church.
Dominion arrived on the scene within minutes to turn off the gas. Because it was a main line that ruptured, crews had to dig into the road on W.Va. 47 to shut off the gas, said Naegele.
Residents returned to their homes about 30 minutes after the evacuation.
"We put out the fire and kept the ditch cool with running water, monitored the area until the gas was shut off completely," he said.
Chuck Penn, media relations manager for Dominion, said an investigation into the cause of the fire was under way.
"We will certainly be forthright when we do find out what caused the fire, but at this point, it would be pure speculation as to what caused it," said Penn. "We do know that someone was burning leaves and at some point came into contact with some natural gas."
Penn said he expects service to be restored to Dominion customers by this morning.
"Fortunately, it does not appear to be anything serious. In terms of customer service, we will have crews working all night and we hope to have service restored to the majority of the customers before dawn," he said.
