Ohio Town of 3,200 Evacuated Because of Gas Fires
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: January 24, 2011
Filed at 9:05 a.m. EST
FAIRPORT HARBOR, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio community of 3,200 people has been ordered to evacuate the town because of fires apparently caused by natural-gas line pressure problems.
Television news reports say the community-wide evacuation was ordered Monday in Fairport Harbor. The community is on Lake Erie northeast of Cleveland.
There is no immediate word on the severity of the fires or whether anyone was hurt. The Lake County emergency management agency says calls have overwhelmed phone dispatchers.
The Red Cross is helping set up a shelter for those evacuated amid 7-degree weather.
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At least community wide evacuations with 8 simultaneous fires overloading the 911 dispatch system in sub-freezing temps is a rare occurance.
Some news reports has it as 12 buildings having caught fire. Something like this also happened in Gary, Indiana in 1969. Equipment failure allowed high pressure gas to flow into low pressure line in Gary.