The faint smell of natural gas hung over a section of Old North London after a backhoe severed a gas line Thursday.
London firefighters were called after the line was sliced in front of a home on Sydenham St., near Saint George St. around 12:30pm
"When we first got here there was a lot of natural gas in the area. We used our monitoring devices to check houses adjacent to the property where the break occurred and all homes in the area have remained clear of natural gas," says District Fire Chief Dave Rob.
Union Gas was notified of the natural gas leak. As of 3:45pm, crews were still working to shut the severed line off.
"Unfortunately the line was fed from two locations," says Rob. "They have been able to shut it off from the east but they are still having trouble locating the line west of the break."
As a precaution Sydenham St. between Richmond St. and Talbot St. and Saint George St. between Oxford St. and Saint James St. was closed for several hours.
