By Mara H. Gottfried
mgottfried@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 02/01/2010 04:25:12 PM CST
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Officials let residents return to their homes in St. Paul's Highland Park neighborhood after putting out a fire started when a sewer worker struck a gas line this morning.
Firefighters had evacuated 15 homes in the neighborhood and those residents were allowed to wait in an empty city bus.
The gas has been turned off. After officials checked the houses to make sure they are free of gas, residents were allowed back in their homes.
Xcel Energy is monitoring the sewer lines and firefighters are spraying water on the house to make sure the fire is completely out.
The worker was burned on the face and taken to Regions Hospital, said St. Paul Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard. His injuries did not appear life-threatening, he said.
Around 10 a.m., the sewer worker struck a gas line that started a fire in a single-family home at 2014 Villard Ave., Zaccard said. Firefighters initially went into the house but had to retreat because of the gas, Zaccard said.
'There was a lot of gas leaking here and when it goes in the sewers, it can go in a lot of directions," Zaccard said. "We had a ticking bomb here. We had to orchestrate our operations just right."
The house has burned to the ground, Zaccard said.
*So what we have here was a plugged main and the man cleaning the sewer thought he was going through some tough roots and the poor
man blew through a gas main.My personal best is a 440 volt power line.
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