JOPPA, Md. — Many had no idea of the infrastructure emergency just off Philadelphia Road in Joppa.
“Anything dealing with gas would make me nervous,” said Taylor Jacobs, “I’m not sure. I haven’t heard anything about it.”
Other residents of Gunpowder Ridge found BGE and Harford County vehicles blocking the street leading into their community.
“They were directing traffic one-way,” Dave Czerski told us, “A tree was down and it looked like whatever was removing the tree hit the gas main, because I could hear the hissing and the gas smell.”
A Harford County tree removal crew tells us workers struck the gas main, which was concealed behind some thick brush and BGE reports it shut off service at 11:20 on Monday morning with no impacts to customers reported.
Some residents we spoke with say Harford County put out an alert this morning suggesting that there had been a gas line break and that people should shelter in place.
Others, like Jacobs, say they received no warnings.
“We didn’t get no notification. No anything. I have no idea what’s going on.”
But in light of a house explosion tied to a ruptured gas line elsewhere in the county less than two years ago, which left two people dead, they remain unsettled by the problem in their neighborhood.
“I remember the story in Bel Air about the home exploding and, like, I think about it all the time, like I don’t want that to happen ever again especially over here,” said Jacobs, “Very nervous.”
BGE hasn’t offered any time frame for completing the work, but says it’s working as safely and efficiently as possible.
