A gas leak in St. Paul on Monday afternoon led to buildings being evacuated at Grand and Snelling avenues.
“This was a very dangerous situation,” said Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard. “Fortunately, there was no fire or explosion.”
The fire department was notified of the leak shortly before 1:45 p.m. and had finished its work by about 3 p.m. While it was going on, the fire department asked people to avoid the area, as roads were blocked and at least a half-dozen buildings were evacuated.
The gas leak happened in the Breadsmith building at 1579 Grand Ave. Levels of natural gas in the building were twice the explosive limit, Zaccard said.
A contractor had installed a new gas line to the bakery Friday, Zaccard said. Someone opened a taped-shut valve over the weekend, filling the basement with a significant amount of gas, he said.
After the gas was shut, firefighters remained on the scene to ventilate the basement to clear out the dangerous levels of gas, Zaccard said. The bakery was closed for about an hour and then reopened.
Ryan Watson was in the area when the gas leak was happening and saw the large emergency response. After Watson picked up a sandwich from the St. Paul Cheese Shop, a few storefronts down from Breadsmith, he said he saw nearby shops were temporarily closing because the smell of gas was so strong.
Mara H. Gottfried can be reached at 651-228-5262. Follow her at twitter.com/MaraGottfried.
