Gas leak closes Maryville streets near old Winn-Dixie building
By Chloe Morrisonof The Daily Times Staff
Originally published: October 21. 2009 3:01AM
Last modified: October 20. 2009 11:43PM
Maryville firefighters closed roads, rerouted school buses, evacuated businesses and called in reserves Tuesday in response to a natural gas leak behind Cornerstone Square between West Broadway and Old Niles Ferry Road.
"We responded with two engines and we got on scene and determined we needed more personnel," Capt. Mike Caylor said Tuesday.
Off-duty firefighters were also called in to man stations as those on-duty secured the area around the leak.
At about 1:30 p.m., crews with Merit Construction, which is based in Knoxville, were working to demolish the old Winn-Dixie building in Cornerstone Square when they hit a natural gas line, Caylor said.
Firefighters secured the area and stood by, prepared with two water lines in case of a fire, as Maryville police officers blocked off roads. Old Niles Ferry Road and intersecting roads Montgomery Street and Cooper lanes were closed for about two hours as Atmos Energy emergency crews worked to stop the leak.
By about 3 p.m., authorities had stopped the leak and by about 4 p.m., all roads were open again.
This story was edited for presentation on the Web. Additional information and details are available for subscribers only. If you want every word of Blount County's best news and information source you can get home delivery and e-edition subscriptions here. Nobody knows Blount better than The Daily Times, your hometown newspaper for 125 years and counting.