Chapin, SC (Paul Kirby) – Firefighters from all three Lexington County fire stations in the Chapin area responded to a gas leak Monday morning. A line was hit by a drilling machine just after 9:00 a.m. in the 100 block of Columbia Avenue. This is between Pinewood Drive and Lexington Avenue right in the middle of the town.
Chapin police officers arrived quickly as did firefighters. When they realized that the gas was still actively leaking, they closed Columbia Avenue between the two cross streets. They also began evacuating a few homes and small businesses that were getting a strong odor of the gas from the leak. Firefighters connected to a fire hydrant and pulled hoses off their trucks to dissipate the vapors with water spray if necessary. During this operation, police officers directed motorist down Lexington Avenue to Chapin Road as a detour.
Dominion representatives arrived on scene a few minutes before 10:00 a.m. to cut off the gas. Because the leaking line was 2 inches in diameter, it took several hours to be repaired. The detour was dropped and traffic returned to normal at 12:22 p.m.
