Gas leak prompts Hempstead charter school evacuation; no injuries
Students were allowed back in the Academy Charter High School at 117 North Franklin Street in Hempstead on after a reported gas line rupture occured at a nearby construction site, Monday morning, May 10, 2021. Credit: Howard Schnapp
Hundreds of elementary and middle school students from the Academy Charter School in Hempstead were evacuated Monday morning after village officials said a contractor at a nearby work site accidentally struck a natural gas line, causing a leak.
The incident occurred on North Franklin Street around 9:15 a.m. Hempstead Mayor Waylyn Hobbs said firefighters, police and a crew from National Grid all responded to the scene. There were no reported injuries and a National Grid spokeswoman said the ruptured line was eventually sealed and the students returned back to class at the school by about 10:30 a.m.
Hempstead officials said the company doing the work Monday was issued a summons for not having a proper plumbing permit to operate at the site.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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