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Tuesday, May. 05, 2009

Gas main break shuts down part of Macon's Napier Avenue

A stretch of Napier Avenue near the 2800 block was shut down for about three hours Monday when road workers ruptured a gas main, causing natural gas to stream into the air.

Traffic was diverted at Brentwood Avenue and Bartlett Street while an Atlanta Gas Light crew repaired a 2-inch pipe that was broken with a backhoe during work along Napier Avenue at about 4:06 p.m.

“I heard a loud ‘Whoosh!’” said Sarah Jones, who lives at the corner of Napier and Inverness avenues.

Jones and her two grandchildren were evacuated from her house by Macon-Bibb County Fire Department officials. Jones said she was told to shut down all electronics in her home and not to use her car while the line was repaired.

“They told me to shut down everything,” she said. “My TV, my computer, everything.”

Fire Capt. Tom Musselwhite said in this case there’s no lasting harmful effects from the natural gas and that there was little danger of an explosion.

“It’s too rich at the hole to ignite, and it’s lighter than air,” Musselwhite said.

To contact writer Phillip Ramati, call 744-4334.