Croton Emergency Gas Line Repairs Underway

It was a very tense morning for people who live on Croton-on-Hudson's Morningside Drive. People who live in about ten homes were told to evacuate around 9 a.m. due to a gas line rupture.

"The fire department knocked on our door and said we had to evacuate immediately because of a gas leak… We had to pick up and leave," said Morningside Drive homeowner Tony Cirino.

Authorities say a ConEd contractor was digging on the side of the street when they accidentally hit the four-inch, high-pressure, steel gas line. The part of the gas line that was hit is a T-shaped pipe that splits the gas so that it travels to multiple homes.

"We ended up evacuating about ten houses and right now they're making repairs to the leak. And everybody's being allowed back into the houses," said Croton First Assistant Fire Chief John Munson.

Morningside Drive homeowner Tony Cirino says he's a bit frustrated because ConEd broke down his door.

"They didn't tell us that they needed to gain access to the home at some point," said Cirino. "They could have asked us for our phone number. They could have asked us to leave the door unlocked."

Cirino says ConEd's communication during the situation was inconsistent. He says the utility company asked for his neighbor's phone number, but they didn't ask for his before he was ordered to leave his home. When Cirino returned to his home, he found that his front door had been broken. Apparently, ConEd had asked the fire department to break down the entrance to his home.

Cirino says that the contractor working for ConEd said that a rock that was dug out of the hole fell onto the gas line and caused the rupture.

Cirino says that a ConEd employee told him that the utility company will pay to repair his door.

"He was good about it. It just could have been avoided," said Cirino.

Right now, people who live on Morningside Drive are returning to their homes and surveying the damage. Patch will continue to bring you the latest on the Morningside Drive gas line repairs.