Residents around the Twin Oaks Drive section of Bridgeport were briefly evacuated early Saturday morning as the result of a vehicle striking a gas meter and catching the gas line on fire, according to Bridgeport Deputy Chief Randy Hartley.

 

The incident occurred early Saturday morning, prior to 3 a.m. Bridgeport Police were actually in the area responding to a 911 hang up on the 700 block of Twin Oaks Drive, Hartley said. Upon checking that out, Hartley said Lt. M. Lemley arrived to see a red jeep fully involved at a residence on the same block of Twin Oaks Drive.

“It appears that the vehicle, according to the report, caused damage to a street  sign, a mail box and a paper box prior to striking a gas meter,” said Hartley.

 

Lemley was calling in what he had witnessed when he was told another 911 call in the area was alerting emergency personnel of the situation. Hartley said Dominion was contacted and residents were briefly alerted and evacuated until it was determined to be safe.

 

“It was a ruptured gas line,” said Hartley. “There were some problems extinguishing the fire due to the location of it and the car impacting it.”

 

Captain Phil Hart of the Bridgeport Fire Department confirmed that. He said the fact the jeep was located on top of the break and the fire led to the issues.

 

“Our goal was to keep the vehicle cool because as long as the flame was going and burning, it was mitigating the hazard for that area due to the vehicle,” said Hart.

 

Hart  said the problem was taken care of once Dominion’s work crew arrived. He said they cut the feed off to the gas meter to stop the problem.

 

According to Hartley, the complainants in the police report said a male suspect was spotted around the vehicle after the collision. However, the same individual left the scene prior to the arrival of police, fire and EMS on the scene.

 

The vehicle was towed from the scene by Dan Riggs Towing. Hartley said the investigation is ongoing and that there are leads being followed up at the present time. Due to it be an ongoing investigation, further information could not be provided.

 

If anyone has any information on the incident, they can contact the Bridgeport Police Department at 304-842-8260.

 

Editor’s Note: Photos courtesy of Facebook.