In Shirley, gas leak leads to rude awakening

Of all the ill-timed home evacuations, pre-dawn on New Year's Day might be tops.

Leaking propane gas had brought fears of a major explosion near hundreds of homes in Shirley and Mastic. Still, traditional holiday revelry complicated some people's reactions.

"I honestly don't remember," Terry Drive resident Steve Zaragoza said of answering the 3:30 a.m. emergency knock to his door. "I guess I fell back asleep."

The truck driver, 57, celebrated New Year's Eve with drinks at home, so the evacuation order didn't stick until he awoke again - at noon. He stepped into his backyard to let out his dog, a 120-pound Newfoundland-Rottweiler mix, and was spotted by a Suffolk police helicopter. Minutes later, officers returned to help him leave.

"I was more alarmed afterward than during," Zaragoza admitted Sunday from his driveway. "They were saying something as simple as a cell phone could have ignited it."

Roughly 2,000 residents in 900 households evacuated a 1-mile radius around the leaking 30,000-gallon tank behind a Kohl's store on Montauk Highway

Those interviewed yesterday, about 18 hours after evacuation orders were lifted at 8:15 p.m., said they were given ample time to gather pets and belongings and were not restricted from starting their vehicles.

Regina Savino had been in bed for just an hour when authorities pounded loudly on her Ardmour Drive door at 3:30 a.m. Earlier, the school bus driver, 50, said she had noticed her power was out and smelled gas, but after a night out in the Hamptons, "didn't put two and two together."

She took about an hour to clear the home and maneuver around road closures before arriving at her daughter's home in Patchogue, where she spent the next 15 hours.

"We planned on having a nice ham dinner," Savino said. "We ended up going to Subway."

Back on Terry Drive Sunday, Jasmin Gonzalez and her fiance, Roy Sapp, began cleaning Christmas decorations. It's something they had planned to do on Saturday.

"I was hesitant to leave, but [police] were pretty persistent," said Gonzalez, 30, a phlebotomist. "It was scary."

With her family visiting, there were 10 people to corral and bring to a nearby hotel. She gathered her belongings in the dark, Gonzalez said, adding that the gas odor was so strong it made her nauseous.

But upon returning home, she spoke of the ordeal in good humor. Food wasn't spoiled and the boiler restarted without any issues.

"They say the way you start the New Year is the way it will continue," Gonzalez said, smiling. "Well, I hope not. We got kicked out to start the year."

With Michael Amon

and Erin Geismar