20 homes evacuated in Cambridge after gas leak

Robson Avenue in Cambridge, Ont., is seen on Tuesday, July 23, 2013.

A gas leak in a Cambridge neighbourhood caused 20 homes to be evacuated, but could have been much worse.

Cambridge Fire officials say they were called around 8:30 p.m. Monday after a resident accidentally dug into a natural gas service line and cut it open while doing home renovations in his backyard.

“He got down approximately half a metre, hit a gas line and caused a gas leak,” says Cambridge Fire platoon chief Ken Talbot.

It happened on Robson Avenue, near Franklin Boulevard and Saginaw Parkway.

“We were worried and concerned, of course,” says neighbour Bharath Arjoin.

“Everything was in the house, nothing was with us. It was a dangerous situation.”

Firefighters say there was potential for an explosion, but the leak was fixed before that could become an issue.

“When you’re dealing with natural gas … one spark, a flame, a cigarette, anything like that can cause disaster,” says Talbot.

Union Gas spokesperson Andrea Stass says the company responds to about 1,000 calls per year where residents dig without calling ahead to have their gas lines located.

“In many of those cases, that also requires fire and police to respond,” she says.

After about one hour, residents were allowed to return to their homes.

No injuries were reported.