Gas leak forces evacuation of school

Some 230 students at St. Michael’s School got an unexpected break from classes around noon yesterday when a gas leak was detected in the area.
Union Gas and the Fort Frances Fire Department were alerted and before noon, it was decided to evacuate the school to the nearby Memorial Sports Centre.
Fire Chief Steve Richardson said the move was made merely as a precaution and stressed there was no indication a fire or explosion were imminent.
“The gas company has a leak, they’re not sure where, but they are certain there is no immediate danger,” said Chief Richardson.
“Union Gas says the levels detected are not explosive, but we have decided to move the kids out just as a precaution until the leak has been isolated,” he added.
In the meantime, Union Gas crews drilled into the pavement and probed with gas detectors to try to find the leak and plug it.
In addition, a security perimeter was set up, initially encompassing the area bounded by Sixth Street East to the north, Fourth Street East to the south, Phair Avenue to the west, and Shevlin Avenue to the east.
Within that area, OPP officers went to every residence and tried to notify people of the situation. No homes were evacuated, though.
Later, that perimeter was expanded as far east as Crowe Avenue and south to Second Street East until Union Gas could isolate the leak, which eventually was located on Frenette Avenue between Second and Third Street and sealed by 7 p.m.
For the St. Michael’s students, it was merely an afternoon off school and a chance to play. Principal Teresa Dennis said there was no panic or distress whatsoever.
“The children and staff are completely calm,” she said from the crowded arena auditorium where the entire student body, which had walked from the school to the arena, had assembled to watch a movie.
Dennis said all the parents were notified and those who were available to pick up their children did so. Bus students were kept until the end of the regular school day and bused home at the usual time.
Dennis said the whole thing turned out as well as could be expected for her young charges. “It went very, very smoothly,” she said. “I’m so proud of all our students and staff.”
In fact, Dennis and her staff managed to put a positive spin on the situation by calling it “Our Exciting Adventure” for the benefit of the students.
“We told them one day, when they’re very old, they can remember this and tell their children about it,” said Dennis. “You have to lighten the load for the little ones.”
“They [Union Gas] found [the leak] around 2-2:30 p.m.,” Fort Frances Fire Capt. Bobczynski noted. “Once they found it, they dug down and capped it.”
Bobczynski said there initially was some difficulty in isolating the leak because the gas was detected at a number of different locations. But that, he noted, is not unusual.
“Gas will find the easiest way out,” he explained. “In this case, the frost in the ground kept it from coming straight up so it went into the sewers and came up in different places.”
Ironically, the source turned out to be closer to the Memorial Sports Centre where the students took refuge than it was to the school that had been evacuated.
In any case, once the problem was found and fixed, people were advised accordingly. Still, fire officials continued to monitor the situation until yesterday evening.
“There were a couple of homes that had high concentrations [of gas] so we went back and checked them out,” said Bobczynski. “Everything was fine, so we were back [at the station] by 7 p.m.”
Mike Shannon, northwest district manager for Union Gas, said today that the leak was first reported early yesterday morning and the company moved quickly.
“We got a call around 7 a.m. about a smell in the sewers and we jumped right on it,” Shannon said from his office in Thunder Bay. “By 2:30, we had found it and it was fixed by 7 p.m.”
Shannon said there were no outages as a result of the incident so the leak presumably was fixed without having to shut off the gas.
He noted these incidents are considered extremely rare. The cause of the leak is unknown, but it may have been related to the cold weather.