Greenwich, CT – Four families are receiving assistance from the Metro New York Red Cross after a late Friday morning transformer and gas line leak on Oak Ridge Street in central Greenwich, according to officials.
The neighborhood that is a major cut-through from West Putnam Avenue to Railroad Avenue, near the McDonald’s restaurant on West Putnam Avenue, was plunged into darkness shortly after 11 a.m. May 24, after a transformer apparently exploded, officials said.
Wires felled by the explosion apparently set off a gas fire that Greenwich Fire Marshal Jim Macdonald described being “like the eternal flame,” apparently caused by an undetected gas line leak in front of 27 Oak Ridge St.
Connecticut Natural Gas Co. was called to the scene to locate the leak and shut the lines and Connecticut Light & Power responded to de-energize the power lines.
Red Cross volunteer Carolyn Sherwin said volunteers were meeting with two families who do not have gas or heat service to their home to determine whether they needed temporary housing and food services. There are a total of four families affected by the incident, according to Sherwin.