Sheldon, Iowa — Four downtown Sheldon businesses were evacuated after a contractor struck a gas line in the central business district.
According to Sheldon Fire Company Assistant Chief Brad Hindt, firefighters were called to the 800 block of Third Avenue a little after 10:45 a.m. Friday morning, July 15th. He says a utility contractor doing some underground work had struck an abandoned natural gas service line in the alley between Eighth Street and Ninth Street, behind the old print shop building.
Hindt says MidAmerican Energy arrived in short order and got to work capping the line while firefighters stood by, just in case. There was a strong smell of gas in the area, but the wind was dissipating it somewhat.
He says they also evacuated Jay Theis’s Ameriprise office, Trevor Gottula’s Edward Jones office, Iowa Information, and Natalia’s Mexican Store as a precaution. According to Hindt, they blocked Ninth Street and Third Avenue, and the nearby alleys.
Hindt tells us they had the line capped after about 45 minutes to an hour. After MidAmerican checked the buildings for gas, they let the people back in their businesses around 12:00 noon and opened the streets and the alley.
Hindt says firefighters remained on the scene for about an hour and a half. He reminds us that if you smell gas, call 911 right away and report it.
