Crime & Safety

Gas Leak Causes Avon School Bus Delays

The gas leak occurred on West Hills Drive near West Avon Road Tuesday.

School buses were delayed Tuesday afternoon due to a gas main leak on West Hills Drive that caused a portion West Avon Road to be closed for a short period.

A contractor accidentally hit the high pressure gas main on West Hills Drive near the intersection with West Avon Road just before 2 p.m., Avon Fire Marshal James DiPace said Wednesday. Gas leaked from the broken line.

No one was injured and there was no wind blowing, so the gas was dissipating in the air rather than traveling, DiPace said. The Avon Volunteer Fire Department secured the area, closing West Avon Road down between Burnham Road and Country Club Road.

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Since the buses could not travel north on West Avon Road until around 2:30 p.m., other school district buses were also delayed. The Avon High School girls varsity soccer team arrived slightly later than planned for their home game against East Granby at Fisher Meadows.

"It delayed everything," DiPace said, noting that dispatchers called the DATTCO bus company to let them know about the issue and that the matter was handled calmly without any major issues.

Find out what's happening in Avonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

As a precaution, , located near the intersection of Country Club and West Avon roads, activated its Code Yellow emergency plan. Administrators kept students and faculty inside the building until the road was reopened and situation was resolved. Emergency officials turned off the ventilation system at the middle school for safety purposes.

"It's the first time we've done an authentic Code Yellow that I can remember," Avon Middle School Principal Marco Famiglietti said, explaining that the Avon Police Department facilitates Code Yellow drills four times a year. "That's the reason why we do drills."

The gas leak took about 30 to 40 minutes to fix. Buses were delayed about 30 minutes and were re-routed, according to Famiglietti.

"Kids were a little later getting home," Famiglietti said.

Parents were notified of the delay by the school district's voicemail alert system.


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