(From Whitewater Fire Department Facebook page)

At approximately 5:10 p.m. on Tuesday evening, January 12, the WFD was dispatched to the intersection of Starin and Tratt St. for a report of a gas leak. First arriving crews found a utility crew from All Underground Incorporated working on laying Fiber Optic cable. The crew had hit a gas line which was venting from a hole dug west of the intersection. Crews closed off Tratt Street in both directions and evacuated nearby homes and apartments. Occupants were sent to the University for shelter. WE-Energies arrived on scene and called for additional assistance in order to shut off the leak. This was delayed due to no crews being available in the area and a response was requested from WE-Energies crews out of Milwaukee. It was unknown at the time if a service line or main had been ruptured. Fire/EMS crews were on scene for approximately 3 hours. It was eventually determined that a service line to a residence was struck. WE-Energies remained on scene after the gas was shut off to repair the line.We would like to thank We-Energies for their quick response, Whitewater Police Department, UW-Whitewater Police, for assisting with traffic control and coordinating shelter space , and Lauderdale La-Grange Fire and Rescue for assisting with covering a 2nd call for a vehicle accident while we had resources tied up.