ATLANTA — A gas leak at a southwest Atlanta home that led to an evacuation of nearby neighbors has been safely turned off, officials said.
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According to Atlanta Fire and Rescue, crews responded to reports of a gas leak just after 12:30 at 860 Welch Street SW.
That smell of gas had neighbor Lonnie Walker up from his nap early Tuesday afternoon.
“Fireman was there, ambulance, and police, and all that stuff. I was wondering what’s going on with the excitement,” Walker told Channel 2’s Cory James.
Atlanta Gas Light said a crew had shut off the leak around 2:25 p.m.
A spokesperson for Atlanta Gas Light says a contractor not affiliated with the company damaged a gas line.
A school and homes around were evacuated as a precaution. Channel 2 Action News has learned the impacted school is Kindezi at Gideons Elementary, a charter school.
I was on a work call when I found out there was a gas leak. They texted us, sent us an email through the app, all sorts of ways, parent John Donovan said.
“I was freaked out but I’m glad they said everyone is safe and accounted for,” parent Rikki Brew said.
Robert Owens, who is the principal of Kindezi at Gideons Elementary, said staff members smelled a gas throughout the building, which started in the third-grade hall.
He said about 290 students and close to 75 staff members were in the building.
“We evacuated to our relocation site, which is [the] center, and we were advised to stay there. We were only outside for about 30 minutes,” Owens said.
No injuries have been reported.
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