KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two Spire employees were injured when a spark caused a fire as they were digging in a hole Tuesday to reach a leak in a large, underground natural gas line.
A spokesperson for the Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department told KSHB 41 at the scene fire crews went to check on a reported ruptured gas main at about 5:30 p.m. near East 95th Street and Grandview Road.
A KCMO Water Department employee working in the area hit a 10 to 12-inch gas line and caused the gas leak, according to the KCFD spokesperson. The city's water department workers had been at the scene all day replacing the pipe.
Spire workers responded to the leak and began digging a hole to help with gas line repairs.
Firefighters evacuated homes in the area, the gas valve was shut down and Evergy shut off power to the area, the KCFD spokesperson said.
A spark ignited a fire and an explosion in the hole, which injured the two Spire employees. One of the employees suffered serious injuries but is in stable condition, per KCFD. The other worker suffered minor injuries.
No residents or firefighters were injured, and no homes were damaged.
Residents were allowed back in their homes by about 9 p.m.
A Spire spokesperson provided an update Wednesday morning.
"Late yesterday afternoon, crews working for another utility hit a Spire gas main in the Grandview area. Our crews immediately responded, and in working to resolve the issue, two of our employees were taken to a local hospital for evaluation. One has been treated and released, and the other is still being treated for injuries.
"In the meantime, Spire crews closed the main to stop the flow of gas to begin repairs. That work concluded overnight, and the area is now gas safe. To ensure the safety and reliability of the system, our crews will perform additional steps before restoring gas to the main. A small number of customers are impacted by outages, and we are hopeful service will be restored soon."
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