Gas Leak Off Bostic Avenue Yesterday

Updated May 9, 10:15 a.m. 

Chuck Cimarik was driving down Bostic Avenue in Historic Norcross yesterday afternoon when he heard an unmistakable sound: a hissing sound usually associated with a gas leak. He said he also smelled the odor of gas. 

When he parked his car to take a closer look at the city property, he found that a gas meter on the side of the building had been damaged, then called the authorities. 

Cpt. Tommy Rutledge of the Gwinnett County Fire Department said that firefighters from Station 1 were the first to respond at 3:19 p.m., after being called in by the Norcross Police Department. Rutledge said that it looked to those who responded as if a tree fell and struck the gas meter. "There was also an active leak and a strong odor of natural gas from the area," according to Rutledge. 

Buford Highway was closed and Lillian Webb Park were both evacuated. "This was done as a precautionary measure to prevent any potential ignition sources until the leak was stopped," said Rutledge. A Hazmat team was also called in to check exposure and gas readings. 

An emergency crew from Atlanta Gas and Light arrived to the scene at 4:09 p.m. and stopped the leak by 4:18 p.m., allowing the park and a nearby business to reopen. 

"I heard one of the firefighters say that there wasn't but a strand of metal left holding (the meter) together," said Cimarik. "So maybe someone was trying to steal it." He said that at first he assumed that the down tree had something to do with the leak, but then he didn't see the connection.