A construction contractor employee striking and damaging a natural gas pipeline caused a large fire near Sylvan Road and Langford Parkway in southwest Atlanta. Firefighters were promptly dispatched to the scene.
As reported, Atlanta Gas Light has confirmed that a natural gas main was damaged by what the company described as “an unrelated contractor,” resulting in the fire that began approximately at 11:30 a.m. The contractor was called “to turn off the gas and fix the main.”
Atlanta Gas disseminated a public announcement, which stated, in part, that the “safety of our employees, customers and the public is our No. 1 value.” Atlanta Gas provided background details regarding the event. The contractor’s tractor damaged a 4-inch natural gas main when digging at the site. The tractor caught fire. As reported, Atlanta Gas Light crews “are on the scene working with first responders to safely secure the area. Once the area is safe, Atlanta Gas Light will work to make repairs. There are no outages for customers at this time and no injuries have been reported.”
Initially, Langford Parkway “was closed in the area as a result of the fire as well as the intersection of Sylvan Road SW and Lakewood Avenue SW.” Additional precautions were taken, including a nearby daycare facility “was forced to evacuate and at least one vehicle caught fire as a result of the incident.” The current status is that the “fire was extinguished after the gas was turned off but road closures are still in place.” No injuries were reported.
