A gas line leak in Lions Park in Eureka was repaired three days after a pipe was broken while a construction crew was working to renovate one of the park’s baseball fields. Bald Hill Road was closed between Weber Drive and Dreyer Avenue for nearly two days, and nearby Geggie Elementary School ended classes early the day of the leak, Eureka Police reported.
“I am so proud of how everyone responded during this event,” Geggie Principal Daniel Hannon said. “Our staff did an unbelievable job staying calm during the evacuation, and they all managed their classes very well for the time we were out of the building. All of our non-classroom teaching staff jumped right in to do anything they could to help out.
“The response from Eureka Police, Eureka Fire, Rockwood safety officers and other district employees was outstanding. Everyone stayed in close communication and supported us and our students in any way they could. The feedback from our parents, fire and police departments was all positive. Overall, this was a great opportunity to practice and find ways to improve our safety procedures without being in immediate danger."
The leak started at about 2 p.m. Nov. 2, and the Eureka Fire Protection District and Eureka Police were quickly called to the park at 340 Bald Hill Road. A Phillips Petroleum Company pipe was damaged, and diesel fuel was leaking from the pipe, police reported.
The leak did not appear to be dangerous, but Rockwood School District, Eureka Police and Eureka Fire officials agreed Geggie Elementary, 430 Bald Hill Road, needed to close early on Nov. 2. Rockwood schools were already scheduled to be closed on Nov. 3.
“The Rockwood School District is grateful to our community partners for their timely communication and collaboration with regard to the fuel leak near Geggie Elementary,” district officials said. “Specifically, the Eureka fire and police departments both worked closely with our administrators and district safety supervisor to ensure that our students were safe and that we could dismiss in a timely and efficient manner.
“Our new school safety officers were all on scene to assist with the evacuation and ultimately the dismissal of students. The Geggie administrative team, staff, students and parents should all be commended for their response carrying out the procedures that are put in place when issues like this arise. This also illustrates how important it is that we work closely with our first responders throughout the school year to ensure we are prepared for all types of events that could impact our schools.”
Eureka Police also closed a section of Bald Hill Road until the evening of Nov. 3 to allow crews to stop the leak. The leak was completely stopped about 3 p.m. Nov. 4, and crews were completing repairs on Monday, police reported.
“No one was required to evacuate, and no one was in any harm,” Capt. Mike Werges said.
Contaminated soil has been removed from the park and is being replaced with clean soil. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources determined only the soil was contaminated by the diesel fuel, Eureka Police reported.
“It went really well,” Werges said of how the situation was handled. “It was an excellent exercise should we have something worse than this. In my opinion, it went flawlessly. I want to give credit to Rockwood School District, the fire department and us working together. We communicated well, and I think it was very organized and systematic.”