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Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Gas Main Fire Likely Sparked by Downed Power Line

Skokie firefighters and Nicor crews respond as arc ignites ruptured pipe and homes are evacuated.

The wild n’ wooly summer of 2011 took another twist Saturday morning when another in a series of nasty storms that have hit the Chicago area in recent months apparently led to a natural gas main fire at the intersection of Crain Street and Laramie Avenue in Skokie.

While still awaiting official word from Nicor, Skokie Fire Department Chief Ralph Czerwinski said at the height of Saturday’s storm, a ComEd power line came down and its arc damaged a nearby underground two-inch gas pipe. A hole about the size of a silver dollar was created in the pipe and the escaping gas was ignited.

The fire department initially evacuated four homes near the area, three on the northeast corner of Crain and Laramie and one on the southeast corner. Residents within a two-block radius were advised to remain in their home as the fire was extinguished.

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Nicor crews excavated the ruptured pipe during repair operations that took about 2 1/2 hours. When the leak and fire were controlled, the evacuated residents were able to return home.

Commonwealth Edison issued a statement, saying that about 1,000 people lost power at the height of the weekend storm. The company said by the late Saturday afternoon, service was back to normal.

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This is in stark contrast to the July storms where some Skokie residents lost power for days following a series of severe storms.

Richard Caragol, a Nicor spokesman, said the flow of natural gas was back to normal, but individual residents in the affected area will have to contact the utility to come to their homes so service can be restored and appliances can be relighted.

Caragol was not aware of how many people lost service because of the break in the gas pipe.

With the intensity of the storms during this summer, there have been downed power lines, but what occurred Saturday marked an unusual chain of events.

“Weather events do not typically affect our facilities because our facilities are located underground,” Caragol said.

“It was a very unique situation,” Czerwinski noted. “It is rare that we experience a fire of this nature. I think the utility companies did a great job in controlling the situation.”

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