Hundreds of homes are still without natural gas service four days after a major water main break in the Kingsessing section of the city.
A 12-inch water main broke on 56th Street and Woodland Avenue on Saturday, initially affecting around 60 homes. But as Philadelphia Water Department employees worked on repairs, even more homes were impacted after officials determined that the break also caused a disruption to the natural gas line in the area.
Philadelphia Gas Works officials shut off service in the area to prevent water from flowing into the fuel lines. As a result, around 1,000 homes in a 15-block radius were without gas.
“My gas went off Saturday,” said James Saddler, who lives on 52nd and Woodland. "On Sunday they came around but they didn’t really explain too much.”
PGW crews ultimately pumped 44,000 gallons of water out of the system as residents in the area struggled to deal with their gas service being shut off.
“We have no hot water to bathe," Saddler told NBC10 on Tuesday. “We have no gas to cook. So what do you do?”
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As of Tuesday night, 700 homes in the area remain without gas.
PGW officials tell NBC10 they are in the process of indentifying homes in the area that have water damage in their fuel lines, a tatic called red-tagging. So far, about 45 homes have been red-tagged.
In a statement, the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) says they hope to have all homes in the area inspected by Wednesday night so that utilities can be turned back on.
"In coordination with PGW, PWD will work with contractors to make appliances such as hot water heaters, house heaters, etc., operable," the statement read.
