Police: Gas leak forces evacuations in Melville

A gas main break led to the evacuation of buildings and homes along Route 110 in Melville on Wednesday night, police said.

The leak occurred just before 9:30 p.m., when a New York State Department of Transportation construction crew breached an 8-inch gas main near Fletcher Place, Suffolk County police and a National Grid spokeswoman said. National Grid was notified of the breach at 9:38 p.m., spokeswoman Wendy Ladd said.

Crews had made the area safe by 11:10 p.m., she said.

Police officers and volunteers from the Melville Fire Department evacuated nearby residences and other buildings.

There were no injuries.

Ladd said that service was disrupted to more than 30 customers, including homes and businesses, and that seven of those customers had service restored Wednesday night.

Service to all but nine customers -- five residential and four commercial -- had been restored by early Thursday afternoon, Ladd said. Those nine customers were not available, so their service will be restored when they return to their homes and businesses, she said.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

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.”