Major gas leak at Ross Township business forced road closures, evacuations

ROSS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Emergency crews responded to a major gas leak at a business in Ross Township Wednesday afternoon.

As of 12:48 p.m., officials said the incident was under control and the building in the 3400 block of Babcock Boulevard was safe.

“Gas is very serious, and people have to understand explosions can happen, and you might not even know it’s there,” said Bob Csaszar.

Csaszar owns a heating and cooling business called Csaszar Mechanical on Babcock Boulevard and is highly trained in working with gas.

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Csaszar says they couldn’t get the heater lit Wednesday morning and detected that there was too much gas in the building.

He believes a vent saved them. They contacted Peoples Gas and the local fire departments.

“My guys felt that it was unsafe,” said Csaszar.

Babcock Boulevard was shut down between Siebert Road and Three Degree Road. Evergreen Road, which runs parallel with Babcock Boulevard, was also shut down.

About five businesses and a home were evacuated for around an hour, as well.

“It’s frightening,” said Rich Quitko. “I think that most people think that if you smell something you know you want to be aware and turn everything off and call the gas company immediately. I can see how some people might not know what to do.”

Peoples Gas said they installed a new gas line here over the summer. They did not share any details about what caused the leak to happen above the ground. Peoples Gas said the cause of the leak is still under investigation.

“It is very concerning,” said Quitko. “It is very scary because it’s wintertime. Everyone wants to turn on their heat. Use their gas stoves, and you want to do that without having any issues.”

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