A mum's house "shook" as a gas leak caused a wall to go up in flames.
The mum said her electricity tripped and her whole house shook after a gas leak ignited on Boundary Lane in Everton shortly after 2am this morning, Tuesday, August 2. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) were dispatched to the scene after reports of a fire close to a number of houses.
Several homes were evacuated by fire crews as a precaution and a cordon was put in place at both ends of Boundary Lane. A wall could be seen this morning blackened with scorch marks caused by the leaking gas igniting.
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MFRS incident commander Tim Selby said: "It was a gas leak which ignited. It was a jet of flame which came out at quite a velocity. Out of an abundance of caution the nearby properties were evacuated.
"It meant there was no gas or electricity in the area but residents were allowed to return once it was clear there was no gas leaking in the properties."
Tomika Lloyd told the ECHO they were alerted to the incident after passers-by "screamed" to get out the house. She said: "There were passers-by screaming to get out the house as we were in the window.
"We woke up the kids and got them into the car. My sister went around to speak to the firemen who said the fire was under control at the time but to go to the end of the street with the kids.
"While I was in the house the electric tripped and the house shook so I thought it was time to leave the area. The next minute police were there blocking roads off and evacuating everyone. All the electric went off on one side of the street. When we went back the electric was back on but not the gas."
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service confirmed crews left the scene around 9.40am and the incident was handed over to Scottish Power and Cadent. A spokesperson for Cadent said: "As the gas emergency service, our teams responded early this morning to this incident. Right now, there is no gas leaking - we carry very sensitive detection kit and there are no readings.
"Scottish Power are on site this morning to isolate some cabling underground. Once they have done that, we can assess if there is any damage to the gas main. We know a small number of properties were evacuated by the fire brigade before our arrival on site. If you ever smell gas, or notice damage to a gas pipe, please always ring the national gas emergency service immediately on 0800 111 999."
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