Fort Worth neighborhood evacuated after gas leak

A gas leak in a Fort Worth neighborhood forced the evacuation at 50 homes.

The evacuation Thursday afternoon was short, but the response was large.

Neighbors say they could smell the gas. Firefighters knocked on their doors asking them to leave. Those evacuated had to walk out of the neighborhood because driving was not allowed.

The fire department cleared out, but Atmos and Fort Worth PD remained at the scene late into the night.

Firefighters say the homes are now safe. They are still venting out one of the homes because it still smells.

Firefighters say a crew installing cable hit a residential line going into a home. It was only about a one-inch line, but very high pressure. The gas started going into the sewer system. From there, it started going into the houses and bubbled up in sinks and toilets.

As many as 50 homes and about 125 people were evacuated. There was so much gas that crews were telling homeowners not to use their cars to evacuate for fear it could cause a dangerous spark.

“There was a lot of gas when we were opening up the lids on the manhole covers,” said Fort Worth Fire Dept. Lt. Kyle Clay. “We could see the gas kind of billowing out. You could see it in the air, so it was a significant amount of gas.”

While it was a fair amount of people evacuated, most were able to get back in pretty quickly. Everyone was able to get back to their homes around 7:30 p.m.

Firefighters say there was a person who was treated on scene for some respiratory issues, but it was someone who had been ill previously.