On Thursday at approximately 1:30 pm members of the Waterloo Police and Fire Departments were called to the area of 371 E. Main St. in the village of Waterloo for the report of a gas line break.
When crews arrived it was learned that a contractor accidentally broke a one inch gas line while digging with a small excavator, releasing gas into the air. The location of the break was within 20 yard of 371 E. Main St., which is an independent senior living apartment building that had approximately 40 residents inside at the time.
A joint effort between members of the Waterloo Police Department, Waterloo Fire Department and the Seneca County Office of Emergency Management led to safe evacuation of all the residents by using the RTS bus service, which transported them to the Holiday Inn.
While at the Holiday Inn, staff from both facilities assisted in ensuring the safety of the residents from the Main St. location. The Holiday Inn also offered emergency housing to any resident that may need it.
Once the building was evacuated, members of NYSEG were able to shut off the gas leak and then repair the broken line. The building was later deemed safe by NYSEG, and the residents were bused back to their apartment building by RTS.
The residents were evacuated for approximately two hours and no injuries were sustained during any part of the incident.
