Gas line ruptures 2 days in a row in North Raleigh neighborhood

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- People in a North Raleigh neighborhood have safety concerns and they want answers after they say they had two natural gas leaks two days in a row.

Residents in Summerfield North reached out to Eyewitness News after they said crews working to install Google Fiber hit a gas line Tuesday and Wednesday.

The neighborhood located is south of Strickland Road and east of Six Forks Road.

"It was a sight to see yesterday," said Will Taylor.

He said contractors took a while to find the valve to turn off the gas Tuesday and had to dig up a neighbor's yard as well as the area around where the school bus stops.

Taylor said those firefighters came into his house to do readings and stayed well into the night to get rid of the smell--something he couldn't ignore while working from home.

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"I'm working upstairs and all of a sudden, I smell gas coming through the vents and I'm like something is going on," Taylor said.

Mike Bolch said he couldn't ignore it either.

"It kind of made me nauseous because I was outside," Bolch said. "It was pretty strong."

Not only were the lines cut at Apple Orchard Way and Old Deer Road but also down where Old Deer intersects with Mourning Dove Road.

"It's just amazing that it keeps happening and I don't feel like anyone is being held accountable," Taylor said.

Google Fiber said it has launched an investigation into what happened and it takes construction issues seriously.

"We apologize for any disruption to residents and we are working with the utility to address the issue as quickly as possible," said a Google Fiber spokesperson.

Dominion Energy sent ABC11 this statement: "We understand the residents' concerns and want them to know we take these matters very seriously. Our crews responded quickly to secure the flow of gas and make repairs. The preliminary investigation indicates the lines were not properly marked by our contractor. We are taking appropriate action and working with all parties to determine how to prevent this in the future."

"I remember way back when they had an explosion in Durham," Bolch said.

Bolch is referring to an explosion that occurred four years ago when two people lost their lives in an explosion, that was in no way related to Google Fiber.

The State Utilities Commission believed the cause was a boring device being used to put in fiber optic cable.

Editor's Note: For Clarification, the downtown explosion was in no way related to Google Fiber

Three separate gas leaks also happened Tuesday in Durham that forced evacuations just north of the public library.

"If this is something happening, we don't want to be interrupted," Taylor said. "Now this is 2-3 years in a row this has happened and we're done."