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UPDATE: Taylor Homes Evacuated for Gas Leak

TAYLOR — It’s not clear when contractors are expected to begin repairing the broken fuel pipe that displaced dozens of people in Lackawanna County. ...

TAYLOR -- It's not clear when contractors are expected to begin repairing the broken fuel pipe that displaced dozens of people in Lackawanna County.

More than 100 residents of a community in Taylor were put out into the cold Tuesday night into Wednesday.

Officials have not given a timetable as to when this gas leak inside Kennedy Boulevard development in Taylor will be repaired.

Property managers are still troubleshooting the issue with contractors who didn't even start digging for the problem yet.

The gas has been shut off since Tuesday night, and no gas means no heat for residents.

Maintenance crews say it's still unclear exactly where the broken gas pipe is located.

UGI told Newswatch 16 it's the development's responsibility to fix the leak since it's their broken pipe.   The entire community is called the Kennedy and Little League Boulevard development. It is federally funded and there about 130 units in the place.

Tuesday night around 9 p.m. when the gas leak happened, emergency crews ordered a mandatory evacuation.   Most residents went with family and friends.   About 50 stayed in two nearby temporary shelters. We caught up with a few of them this morning.

"It's cold but at least we have a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs. But it was kind of strange. You're there and all of sudden you're getting evacuated and you don't know what's going on, and you don't know where you're going to go, where you're going to sleep and it's freezing outside," said Kerri Smith.

"It was hard to sleep because you're used to sleeping in your own bed. I tossed and turned. Other than that, it probably wouldn't have been so bad. It's cold especially at night because the temperatures drops," said Samantha Smith.

Once a contractor locates the problem, they can repair the gas leak.   The overall repair job will still have to be checked out by UGI to make sure it's safe before the gas is turned back on.

And there's another concern. The longer these buildings go without heat, that more likely waters pipes inside might freeze, possibly causing some damage inside the homes.

It's not known when residents will be able to return. Development officials say if they have to, the residents will be put up in nearby hotels so they don't have to stay in the shelters too long.

Firefighters went door to door to the 130 buildings on Kennedy Boulevard that were affected, telling the residents they had to leave until the heat is restored due the freezing temperatures.

Some residents told Newswatch 16 they were going to stay with family or friends. Others are choosing to go to one of the two shelters that have been set up.

One shelter was at Riverside High School, but the people housed there were moved to the Taylor Community Center so that school would not be affected. Residents who have pets can stay at the Taylor Hose Company.

Rian Gallagher is affected resident with a pet who was relieved they made accommodations for pets.

"Most people don't have cars or have anywhere to go. People with dogs and cats, it's going to be a big problem," Gallagher said.

"They seemed to be really on top of it. 30 minutes before we were told to be evacuated, they were warning us. They were polite and courteous and they're getting it done. That's all that's important to me," said Diedre Gallagher.

The county EMA also arranged for COLTS buses to take residents to those shelters.

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