Gas Leak Burke St Warragul

At approximately 9:00am on Tuesday 11 October 2011, the Warragul Fire Brigade received a call from a member of the community advising of a smell of gas in the Burke Street, Warragul area.

The Brigade responded with two appliances and additional support was received from Drouin Fire Brigade.

Once on scene it was identified quickly that there was a natural gas leak from a main in the nature strip. The Warragul Fire Brigade’s Hazardous Materials Operators conducted air monitoring tests and concluded that there was a substantial amount of gas in the area. As a result, Incident controller Captain Paul Tandberg requested that Police attend for traffic control and set up road blocks to prevent traffic from entering the area.

Early involvement of the Police was also needed in case an evacuation was needed. As a precaution, Marist Sion college were notified of the leak but were not required to evacuate.

Representatives for the gas company were called to investigate and stop the leak.  The Brigade continued to assisted the gas company while the main was inspected and until the area was deemed safe for the general public at around 10:30am.  The gas company remained on scene for several hours fixing the main.

“Members of the community who suspect or know of any gas leaks are encouraged to call Emergency Services on 000. Situations like these can potentially be dangerous." stated Warragul Fire Brigade Captain, Paul Tandberg.

"In this case the Warragul Fire Brigade responded quickly to the incident and was able to identify the area, isolate any ignition sources and assisted the gas company to stop the leak and prevent any injuries or damage to property.”