Emergency management officials have sealed the leaking buried propane tank at the Kohl’s shopping plaza in Mastic, Riverhead Fire Chief Nick Luparella told RiverheadLOCAL in a 4 p.m. phone interview.
“Now they’ll have to see if it holds,” Luparella said.
Riverhead firefighters and EMTs have been on the scene in Mastic since the early morning hours. Riverhead still has a ladder truck on standby at the Mastic firehouse, Luparella said, but its fire police units, who were helping with traffic control, have been relieved.
A major leak in the buried 30,000-gallon propane tank was discovered by a propane deliveryman at about 1:15 a.m. today. The cause of the leak has not been officially determined. Mastic firefighters began immediately evacuating homes within on square mile of the shopping center. Electric service in the entire area was shut down and surrounding roads were closed to traffic.
Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead has been on high alert all day, prepared to handle mass casualties in the event of an explosion, said president and CEO Andrew Mitchell. The medical center is on a level one hospital emergency incident command system alert, he said.
Nearly every fire company in the county responded to Mastic’s mutual aid calls today.
Luparella said emergency personnel must now wait and see if the leak is permanently sealed. If it is, they will go door-to-door in the area checking basements for propane before restoring electricity. Propane gas is heavier than air and commonly fills basement spaces. Any electrical spark will ignite an explosion if a basement is filled with the gas.
Emergency officials evacuated hundreds of homes in the area of the leak, beginning at about 1:30 a.m., according to residents of the neighborhood. Sunrise Highway and Montauk Highway have been closed to traffic since early this morning.
Riverhead Fire Department responded to a 6 a.m. mutual aid call. Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps was called to the scene at 3:45 a.m., according to one EMS worker.
The county set up a shelter for people and pets at nearby William Floyd High School, where some 200 residents took refuge.
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