Kimball Township, MI – KIMBALL TWP. Firefighters are at the scene of a natural gas main leak in the 300 block of North Lincoln in Kimball Township and we will be out here until SEMCO says they don’t need us anymore, said Kimball Battalion Chief Carl Stosik.
The leak, which caught fire, was reported about 7:23 p.m., he said.
A SEMCO Energy employee also was at the scene.
We don’t put it out because if we put it out we get a gas leak and a possible explosion, Stosik said.
He said the leak was burning in a small circular area at the front of a lot between two houses when firefighters arrived. Homeowners, he said, told him there was a small leak in the area.
It’s not a big break, Stosik said. The homeowners are telling me there used to be a tree there.
He said it was possible the tree roots might have compromised the gas man, causing a pinhole leak.
I’m glad it’s just like that, he said. Something that’s easy to contain.
He said repair crews will have to shut down the line and dig it up in order to fix it.