Dozens of young children were evacuated from a daycare along with staff at several medical offices in Jennersville when an underground gas line was struck on Monday morning.

The West Grove Fire Company was dispatched for a gas leak outside in the area of Vineyard Way in Penn Township. A contractor cut a buried natural gas line in the area behind the Dunkin Donuts, which is a complex of medical office buildings and a daycare located along Old Baltimore Pike near the intersection with Route 796 adjacent to the new high school.

Engine 22-1, 22-2 and Tanker 22 responded along with both ambulances and fire police. With readings of gas evident in the area, fire crews made the prudent decision to evacuate the adjacent businesses. This included more than 100 children and staff from The Growing Place Childcare & Preschool. With the high school nearby, and the building mostly empty as school was closed for a religious holiday, the fire company and The Growing Place staff quickly developed a plan to use two ambulances to transport the youngest children in several trips with the older kids walking with staff down to the high school, where high school staff helped host the children in the gym.

PECO crews arrived and worked over an hour to dig up the severed line and repair it. Fortunately, there were no injuries, and the evacuation of the medical offices and daycare went smoothly. A third WGFC ambulance was placed in service during the incident to facilitate EMS crews handling a second emergency in the area during the gas leak incident. Fire police helped secure the parking lots and roadways.

Our thanks to the great staff at The Growing Place, and for the assistance of staff and administrators at the Avon Grove High School. We also thank the crew at Dunkin Donuts who provided donuts for the emergency crews during the incident.