200 residents briefly evacuated from Dartmouth neighbourhood due to gas leak

More than 200 residents were allowed back into their homes, after emergency crews responded to a natural gas leak on Kennedy Drive in Dartmouth.

Crews were called Thursday morning just after 10:30 a.m. after the smell of gas was detected.

Power to the neighbourhood was shut off and Halifax Regional Police blocked traffic in the area.

Several buildings on Kennedy and Roleika Drives were evacuated, which affected more than 200 people.

The sound of the gas leaking sounded like heavy rain and could be heard from hundreds of feet away.

The municipality set up a comfort centre for residents at the Findlay Community Centre on Elliot Street.

“Heritage Gas are here and they’re working on stopping this gas leak,” said Halifax Fire Division Chief Dave Meldrum.

“Once Heritage Gas assures that the flow of product has been stopped, then the work will begin to ensure there are no concentrations of natural gas remaining before we allow residents to return.”

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Meldrum said the situation was “stable” and that the concentration of natural gas was low.

By 11:40 a.m., crews were able to pinch a two-inch line to cap off the leak.

Residents were allowed back to their homes at around 12:15 p.m.

Chris MacAulay, vice president of engineering, construction and operations at Heritage Gas, said in a phone interview that the company is investigating the matter.

The leak was caused by work being done by a property manager at the site, and the necessary pipe repairs have been completed, he said.

The investigation will go through the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board, and it should take about two weeks, MacAulay said.