ORONO, Maine — A gas leak at an apartment complex in downtown Orono was contained by Bangor Natural Gas Wednesday afternoon -- but not before residents in the area were evacuated.
The Orono Fire Department responded to Mill Street in downtown Orono after reports of a gas leak around noon. Deputy Chief Rob St. Louis says 12 to 20 people were evacuated, and others were asked to avoid the area.
St. Louis says the 9-1-1 report to dispatch came in from a worker after an excavator accidentally cut the gas line.
The Orono Fire Department and Bangor Natural Gas conducted air monitoring to make sure all apartments were safe. Residents were then allowed to return back to their apartments.
St. Louis told NEWS CENTER Maine that the Farmington explosion a little more than two weeks ago is on the minds of Department members when they respond to emergencies like this.
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"We just take our time, and we just make sure we have enough resources coming in," St. Louis explained. "As you might have noticed, we had Old Town, Bangor, the university ambulance and Orono P.D. on site to also assist with the evacuation."
Claire Sargent lives at the complex. She says that in her 14 years there, she has never experienced anything like Wednesday's evacuation.
"You could smell it in the air, and some of the apartments were really permeated with it," Sargent told NEWS CENTER Maine, talking about the gas. "We’re seeing explosions on T.V. where houses are flattened, you know, and that’s scary -- and we’ve got a lot of people living here.”
No one was injured during the gas leak.
Bangor Natural Gas stayed on scene Wednesday afternoon to repair the gas line.