Thelen said it will take some time for investigators to do a full report and establish who will be responsible for the cost of repair.
"In typical situations, we would bill whoever damages our facilities, however in this case, that would be premature to say until a report is completed," she said.
City spokeswoman Shelby Quinlivan said the incident was reported at about 9:45 a.m. Wednesday in the 900 block of Lafayette Avenue. First responders evacuated nearby homes as a precaution as firefighters assessed the fire.
The gas line was shut off and the the fire was put out about 11:30 a.m. Firefighters and Duke Energy workers gave the "all clear" for residents to return to their homes.
Jessica Stamey, who lives in the area, said she was woke up and saw messages on social media about the incident. She came outside and was taken to the bus for evacuation. She said crews have been working on streets for the past two weeks as part of city’s curb, gutter and sidewalk program.
As of 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday, 10/2, there is an active gas leak with fire on Lafayette Ave. Middletown Division of Fire is currently in a full response and evacuating homes in the 900 block of Lafayette. Please avoid the area at this time. Updates will be made to this post.
— City of Middletown (@CityMiddletown) October 2, 2019
