By: Nick Buglione
But the outcome could have been even more grim, said East Meadow Fire Department Chief Neil Rohde. ³We had the potential for a major catastrophe,² he said.
The fire department received a call a little before 7 p.m. that residents were smelling gas and responded to the scene. An investigation revealed that a transformer box had caught on fire and burned through the outer coating of the gas pipes that ran directly underneath it, Rohde said.
³The box is partially buried underground,² the chief said. ³The cables underneath it somehow caught fire. Right below those cables were the natural gas feeds.²
The department called officials from Keyspan and the Long Island Power Authority to the scene, who shut off all gas and power to the some 470 apartments within the senior community.
A large-scale evacuation ensued, with some 500 seniors carefully relocated from their apartments to The Meadows¹ recreation center, which was running on a generator and had air conditioning. Other seniors were moved into air-conditioned buses provided by nearby fire departments, Rohde said.
By 11:10 p.m., Keyspan had the gas leak under control and some residents were allowed to return to their apartments, said Diana Parisi, a Keyspan spokeswoman. About 30 residents weren¹t able to go back to their apartments for the duration of the evening, Rohde said. ³We called in the Red Cross and the Office of Emergency Management to help with the possibility of getting these people to a shelter for the evening,² he said, noting that most wound up spending the night with neighbors or family.
The leak was fixed and power and gas were returned to the majority of the apartments late that night. LIPA did have to provide generators to about eight apartments that were still without power, said Michael Lowndes, a LIPA spokesman.
³We found that there was a problem with one of the transformers on the site,² he said. ³But we were in a catch 22 because we couldn¹t fix the transformer until the gas leak was fixed.²
By the next morning, there was still one building in the complex that was without gas power, Parisi said. ³The only thing they use gas for is heating,² Parisi said. ³All of the other appliances are electric. It¹s not effecting them because the residents do not need heat at this time.²
No injuries were reported. ³Out of all of that, everybody was fine,² Rohde said.
Comments about this story? NBuglione@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
