KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- An odor of natural gas near 30th and Cherry in Kansas City around noon Wednesday prompted precautionary evacuations in the area.
Matthew Kartonis works at Superior Linen and Work Wear. He could smell the odor of gas from his office.
"I smelled something like natural gas from an office in the corner of our building," said Kartonis.
According to crews on the scene, a contractor hit a gas line in the area. The leak has been capped and those who were evacuated were allowed back into their businesses.
Evacuations
Buses were preparing to help evacuate students at nearby Montessori Academy, but the evacuation was canceled.
Editor's note: At Longfellow Elementary down the road, dozens of students were outside during the ordeal for an apparently unrelated reason, fire officials said. Those students were moving back indoors around 12:30 p.m.
Montessori Academy and a gym nearby also evacuated after reports of a strong gas odor. Holly Beyer is the founder of the academy. She said their 60 students were ready to board buses.
"We had them ready to go. They all had their coats on and car seats were ready. They were going to send us a bus, but thankfully we did not have to do that," said Beyer.
Spire, Inc., the area's natural gas service, had a crew on scene looking at the gas lines.
Fire crews tested gas levels in the area to determine if it was safe for people to return inside.
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