Hundreds of Union City residents evacuated after gas leak

UNION CITY, N.J. (PIX11) — Roughly 700 people were evacuated in Union City Thursday morning, following a gas leak at the intersection of Summit Avenue and 26 Street.

Fire officials said a crew from Veolia was working on a water main when they hit a 20-inch gas main, spewing a mixture of gas and water into the air.

“It caused a big disruption in the area,” said Deputy Chief Marc Franco of the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue. “There was a lot of panic…it sounded like an airplane engine, basically.”

Two schools in the vicinity of the leak – Union City High School and Robert Waters Elementary – were also dismissed early.

Veolia said the gas main was mismarked by PSE&G. When asked about this, PSE&G said it could not comment on specifics.

Two buses were also brought in so displaced residents could stay cool in the air conditioning.

One neighbor, Joanna Becerra, said she smelled a gas odor Thursday morning and heard a rumble. She then received a call from her husband, who had just left for work.

“He calls me and says don’t go outside, there are massive amounts of water spraying out of the ground,” said Becerra.

Becerra stayed indoors for about another half hour. “I get a firefighter knocking on my door, saying you guys need to evacuate the building,” said Becerra. “There’s a gas leak outside and it’s not safe to be in here.”

Another neighbor, Sarela Orque, walked around the neighborhood while she was displaced. “It’s really hot,” said Orque. “The heat is not helping at all.”

No one was injured in the leak and residents were never without water or gas.

Deputy Chief Franco is thankful that there was minimal damage. “It could’ve been a lot worse. We were lucky today. And everybody did a great job.”

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