Crime & Safety

Evacuees Return Home After 'Major Gas Leak'

Fire officials say residents from 10 Ramsey homes were evacuated and emergency responders prepared for a possible explosion Sunday afternoon

Families from 10 Ramsey households were evacuated for about 45 minutes Sunday afternoon while crews cleared a natural gas leak that could have caused an explosion, fire officials said Monday.

According to Ramsey Fire Chief Randy Sterbinsky, borough Fire, Rescue Squad and Ambulance Corps members were all stationed with the evacuees at the corner of Dixon Street and Lake Street, about 600 feet from a “major gas leak,” that he said could have caused an explosion in the residential Ramsey neighborhood.

A contractor working at one of the homes near the intersection of Dixon Street and Bonnie View Terrace caused the leak when he accidentally cut the gas pipe with a power saw while trying to remove a stump next to home, Sterbinsky said. Residents were out of their homes for about 45 minutes while PSE&G cleared the leak and deemed the area safe to return to, he said.

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“[Fire Department] crews walked the neighborhood residents back to their homes and used our gas meters to check inside the homes for any lingering gas and potential danger,” Sterbinsky said.

The entire incident lasted about an hour, he said. During it, the residents of the 10 homes in the “danger area” were moved to a safe distance, while emergency responders staged vehicles and equipment and were prepared for a possible explosion, he said.

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