Residents were ordered to evacuate Waterford Trailer Park in New Castle on Thursday afternoon after a thousand-gallon propane tank began to leak on the premises, Christiana Fire Company reported.
Assistant Fire Chief Dennis Godek said the department received an emergency call from contractors who were moving a propane tank in the trailer park at around 1:52 p.m. A valve on the propane tank broke while it was being moved, Godek said, and its contenbegan to spill out.
By the time firefighters arrived, most of the gas had escaped in an “uncontrolled leak,” Godek reported. He said he called the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control for advice, and was told that the only option was to let the propane escape.
DNREC spokesperson Michael Globetti said that the department worked with first responders to “avert any threat to public safety and the environment.”
The area was determined to be safe to return to just before 4 p.m., less than an hour and a half after the emergency evacuation alert was issued.
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