Residents allowed back in The Tower after major gas leak in downtown Fort Worth
Residents of The Tower were allowed to return to their homes Wednesday morning about 19 hours after they were forced to evacuate because a construction crew damaged a natural gas line, causing a leak and high gas levels in downtown Fort Worth.
Fort Worth fire officials gave the all clear just before 10:30 a.m. Wednesday to residents of The Tower, 500 Taylor St.
The construction accident was at West 5th Street and Taylor Street earlier in the day.
The Fort Worth Fire Department and Atmos Energy first responded to the gas leak shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday and an area of about two blocks was closed to vehicle and foot traffic for hours.
Around 8:10 p.m. the fire department posted an update on Twitter saying that the leak had been stopped and gas was turned off to a large part of downtown.
Tower residents had received a message on social media that Fort Worth fire officials would make a decision on allowing them to return around 9 a.m. Wednesday.
The department said there were still high levels of gas in the building of The Tower on Tuesday night and said residents would not be able to stay there through the night. Residents who wanted to get their vehicles were advised by the department to meet at West 3rd Street and Lamar Street to be let into the garage.
The Red Cross opened an emergency shelter for displaced residents at North Fort Worth Baptist Church, 5801 IH 35W, but a fire department spokesperson said no one stayed there. The Red Cross said displaced residents could also check with local hotels for disaster rates.
Major gas leak Tuesday afternoon in downtown #FortWorth. Several streets have been blocked off. pic.twitter.com/jZY8zQpVQm
— domingo ramirez jr. (@mingoramirezjr) October 26, 2021
Celina Cardenas, Atmos Energy spokeswoman, said in an email Tuesday evening that a construction crew was doing work unrelated to Atmos Energy and damaged a natural gas pipeline. Technicians were sent out to the scene to help make necessary repairs, she said.
A resident at The Tower condominiums said electricity had been shut off to the building.
Oncor reported no active outages in the area of the gas leak, according to Oncor’s outage map as of Tuesday night.
Atmos Energy testing for gas on Taylor Street. No indication when the streets will be unblocked at this time. @startelegram pic.twitter.com/Z51sIhf1XZ
— Megan Cardona (@megancardona_) October 26, 2021
An Atmos crew and firefighters were testing gas readings in the area to determine when evacuated residents could return.
Cardenas said the most common cause of outside natural gas leaks is digging or construction that disturbs natural gas pipelines.
[3:20PM] #YourFWFD PIO is responding to a large gas line leak #downtown #FortWorth at West 5th Street & Taylor Street. All foot and vehicle traffic in ALL directions are being shut down for 2 blocks. We will provide updates as needed. Please avoid this area. pic.twitter.com/PCuGxEuQ6s
— Fort Worth Fire Department (@FortWorthFire) October 26, 2021
