LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A gas leak in a neighborhood in Fairdale is linked to a company already in hot water in southern Indiana for the same thing.
Wednesday morning a little before 11, residents in Treeline Estates off New Cut Road, south of the Gene Snyder, could see gas fumes in the air.
Fairdale Fire said Lumos, a fiber optic company installing cable, was working in a neighborhood near Pirouette Avenue at Sissone Drive when crews hit a six-inch main gas line. Emergency crews blocked off part of the road and monitored air quality in the area.
“We’ve had a couple of gas leaks — gas issues — with that company,” said Maj. Michael Scott Clark with Fairdale Fire. “I don’t know if it’s the location of the gas lines being off, or they just put in the machine and go.”
According to LG&E, the gas was quickly shut off, and the area made safe. LG&E also said "the cause of the dig in is under investigation."
The crews in Fairdale were installing underground conduit that will eventually house fiber optic cable. In some cases, the cable is pushed through soil under yards, driveways, and even streets — using a special guiding device.
But neighbors like Harold Davis said the project caused confusion and safety concerns.
“Everybody smelled gas,” Davis said. “They blocked the highway with tape. Nobody could come in or out. LG&E had to come out and dig a hole to fix it.”
Utility flags and spray-painted lines can be seen throughout the neighborhood, each representing a different underground service — typically blue for water, red for electricity, and yellow for gas.
A spokesperson for Lumos told WDRB in an email that the gas line hit was the result of a mismarked utility.
Davis said the smell of gas stretched well beyond his yard.
“Oh yeah, it was pretty strong,” he said. “The wind was kind of light but variable. You could smell it down the street.”
This comes as leaders in Floyd County, Indiana, have filed two stop-work orders against Lumos due to the gas and water lines being hit.
Last Friday, Lumos crews were installing cable in New Albany and hit a marked water line, leaving about 70 residents without water for hours.
Floyd County Commissioners have twice ordered Lumos to stop working in Indiana because of repeated problems. At a meeting Tuesday night, a Lumos representative presented a plan to improve operations, and commissioners are now allowing the company to finish its current permits — but under close supervision.
“I don’t have a problem with them doing it if we knew they were doing it,” Davis said. “But I don’t like the idea that they came on our property.”
To add to the concern — another company offering fiber optic service is expected to begin similar underground work in the Fairdale area in the next few months.
Previous Coverage:
Water outage in New Albany caused by fiber optic contractor already under scrutiny
Judge issues immediate stop-work order for fiber optic installation in Floyd County
Floyd County halts fiber optic work after resident complaints, multiple gas line strikes
Fiber optic company faces backlash in Floyd County over damaged property, unsafe practices
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