Fire out after gas line rupture near apt

LYNDHURST, Ohio - More than 100 firefighters battled a large fire after construction crews ruptured a gas line next to an apartment building in Lyndhurst Thursday.

Crews broke the line at 12:30 p.m. right next to a building at the Sherri Park Apartments on Acacia Park, near the Interstate-271/Cedar Road area.

Lyndhurst Mayor Joe Cicero said emergency crews responded as soon as they learned of the 4-inch gas line rupture, and evacuated all the residents from the building.

A short time later, the gas caught fire and crews struggled to turn off the pipeline feeding that main.

Chief Mike Carroll with the Lyndhurst Fire Department said the fire was not widespread in the building. The fire department said the gas spread through the first, second and third floors, with most of the damage confined to the one wing of the building.

Carroll said many of the 120 residents in the building are elderly, but all were able to make it out safely. All of the evacuees were taken to the Greens Nursing Home in Lyndhurst with the help of the Red Cross and South Euclid Lyndhurst Schools.

Video from the Nikki Ferrell from the Beachwood Patch news website ( beachwood.patch.com ) shows flames shooting in the air.

At about 3:20 p.m. almost three hours after the fire started the gas line was shut off and the fire was put out.

The fire left behind black soot that covered the side of the apartment building and ground, and destroyed the construction vehicle that struck the gas line.

Three firefighters were accessed on the scene for injuries and one resident was taken to Hillcrest Hospital.

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Fire out after gas line rupture near apt