Volunteer firefighters, Center Point respond to gas leak (Houston MAB Bus Deployed)

ATASCOCITA – The Atascocita Volunteer Fire Department was called to a natural gas leak at 9:30 a.m. on June 15 outside the Enterprise Car Rental office in the strip center at FM 1960 and Timber Forest Dr.. The leak was the result of a collision between a private vehicle and the gas meter for the northwest corner of the building. No injuries were reported as a result of the collision, but the strip center was evacuated as a precautionary measure.

Fire crews arrived on scene to find a pickup truck in the vicinity of the gas meter with no occupant. The first arriving engine company deployed a protective hose line while other members of the department began the process of evacuating the remainder of the center, assisted by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Deputy Fire Chief Mike Mulligan said that the evacuation took about 15 minutes and all tenants were allowed to return within two hours.

One of the tenants of the strip center was a daycare facility which, at the time of the incident, was occupied by 18 students and caregivers. These evacuees were moved to a secondary facility utilizing the AVFD’s AMBUS, MPV-601, which is a mass casualty unit capable of transporting up to 20 Advanced Life Support patients at one time or moving that many non-critical customers out of harm’s way. None of the daycare patrons were injured or required medical care. The MPV was used to move them all at one time, thus keeping them together.
Center Point Energy was contacted immediately upon receipt of the initial call for help and once on scene determined that securing the line would require additional assistance from a specialized Center Point crew.

Center Point provided air monitoring both inside and outside of the building during the incident to ensure that no dangerous levels of gas accumulated that might cause an explosion.
Fire crews remained on location until the gas was shut off, at which time all occupants of the strip center were allowed to return to their businesses.