Between 20 and 30 homes in North Hampton were evacuated temporarily Sunday after a compressed natural gas truck became superheated and caused some of its contents to vaporize into the air.
North Hampton Fire Chief Dennis Cote said the call came in just before 1 p.m. Sunday about the incident, which occurred at Abenaqui Carriers at 38 South Road. Compressed natural gas had released from one of several trailers on the property, creating a sizable "cloud" or "plume" that lingered over the area due to fog and rain, according to Cote.
Post Road homes between South Road and Lafayette Road were asked to evacuate as a precaution as crews used water lines to disperse and dissipate the cloud of natural gas. Roads were blocked in that area during these efforts.
"Everything was deemed safe" around 3 p.m., according to Cote, who said there is no residual health affects or environmental contamination in the area. Cote said compressed natural gas is lighter than air, which allows it to dissipate "quite quickly" once it converts from a liquid to a gas.
"Once the trailer cooled down... there was no more discharge," said Cote.
Cote said his department is still working to determine what caused the trailer to overheat and discharge some of its contents. He said he has been on the phone with the owner of the trailer and Abenaqui Carriers.
"We'll get to the bottom of it as far as the cause goes, but this is a new method of transportation for compressed natural gas," said Cote, who said there are "only 13 trailers operating in this area" using this method of transportation.
A second alarm was struck Sunday due to the evacuation call. Portsmouth, Exeter, Hampton, Rye, Greenland and Stratham also responded.
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