Baxter Experiences Gas Leak On Main Street

Baxter officials responded Thursday morning to a gas leak at the intersection of Main Street and 4th Avenue.

Baxter Fire Chief Matthew White said the leak began after a contractor disrupted the line while digging. White said the leak was severe but only lasted for a short amount of time.

“Currently, the leak has been stopped,” White said. “It has been corrected. They will be making repairs to lines at a later time, but the leak is currently contained, and there is no active gas.”

White said Middle Tennessee Natural Gas would be making repairs. White said there was an initial concern with the leak being close to the schools, but the quick response ended any concerns.

“With an abundance of percaution and we wanted to do some safety measures,” White said. “We contacted the school system, and we did some safety precautions just because of the area it is. We wanted to make sure we had enough safe distance between to make sure there was not an immediate threat to them but we just wanted to make sure everything was safe in that zone.”

White said natural gas leaks can be very dangerous if left unattended.

“It has a tendency to rise and dissipate in the air as it goes up,” White said. “But today, the wind is blowing, and it can cause a drift. If it has a certain mixture or ratio to the gas and it finds an ignition source, it could possibly ignite.”