A construction crew punctured a major gas line on Hall Avenue in Renfrew Wednesday, Nov. 12.

Gas could be smelled as far away as Argyle Street and caused the temporary evacuation of a daycare at Trinity-St. Andrew’s United Church. The gas company and fire department received several calls from concerned residents, but no one was injured in the incident.

Renfrew development and works director Mike Asselin explained that the contractor digging a trench across Hall Avenue as part of the project to repair the main sewer line in the area hit the gas line. It’s possible the warning flags marking the line were misplaced, he said.

Enbridge Gas and the Renfrew fire department were called to the scene. As the excavator had punctured a four-inch line, special equipment had to be called in from Ottawa for the repairs.

Renfrew fire department Lieut. Dan Visneskie said firefighters were on scene for about two hours and 40 minutes as a safety precaution, waiting for the repairs to be complete.

He explained that the gas was released into the air and floated westwards over the downtown before dissipating. The perfume in the gas filtered out and settled, he noted. “It wasn’t the gas people smelled, but the (perfume) residue.”

Daycare staff at the United church, concerned that gas was coming from the furnace, evacuated the children as a precaution, but it was determined they were smelling the perfume from the gas leak.

Visneskie said the situation could have become dangerous if the gas had seeped into the sewer line. If that had been the case, area homes would have been evacuated, he said. Fortunately, the punctured line was in an open trench, he said.

Asselin said the incident has delayed the project by about a day, but Hall Avenue is still expected to be reopened before the end of the month.