Crime & Safety
Fire Chief Provides More Details on Tuesday Gas Leak
A gas leak at Rocky's Ace Hardware in Middletown Tuesday required response from Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth and Navy fire departments and Middletown Police.
The following information was provided by the :
A gas leak at at 278 West Main Rd. on Tuesday morning created a cloud 25-feet high and 50-feet wide, which required evacuations, road closures and assistance from all four fire departments on the island.
The leak apparently occurred while a store employee was filing a propane tank.
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The leak was first identified by a officer around 9:54 a.m. The officer reported a strong gas odor and large gas cloud near the hardware store. The department also received calls from residents who drove by the location and saw the gas cloud.
A call for Mutual-Aid assistance was requested from Navy, Newport and Portsmouth fire departments. Middletown police evacuated people from the area and shut down traffic from One Mile Corner to Two Mile Corner.
Employees and customers of the store evacuated out the rear of the store.
A Newport Fire Engine took up a position in the rear of the store and set up a protective water spray.
Captain Brian Powel and Firefighter Jason Defreitas were then able to approach the store entrance and hit a remote emergency shut off, while Portsmouth firefighters blanketed the area with a fog spray. This shut the electricity off to the propane pumping station, which slowed the leak, but did not stop it completely.
After the vapors cleared, Capt. Powel and Firefighter DeFreitas shut-off a valve on the filling station that stopped the leak.
No injuries or property damage were reported. West Main Road reopened to traffic at 11:30 a.m.
