Residents evacuated after police officer inadvertently discovers gas leak at Alice Springs flats
A SET of flats has been evacuated overnight after a police officer inadvertently discovered a gas leak in one of the units.
Centralian Advocate
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A SET of flats in Alice Springs was evacuated overnight after a police officer inadvertently discovered a gas leak in one of the units.
NT Police Southern Watch Commander Senior Sergeant Shaun Furniss said a police crew were at a block of flats at Nicker Crescent in Gillen about 7pm, making inquiries about an unrelated matter, when one of the officers walked past an airconditioning unit and “smelt a strong smell of gas”.
When he knocked on the door of the relevant unit, a 56-year-old woman answered the door.
“When she opened the door, he was overwhelmed by the smell of gas,” Snr Sgt Furniss said.
“One of the gas burners on the stove had been left on with no flame, and the gas had escaped and filled up the unit.”
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“The woman was very drowsy and had a headache – she had been sleeping.”
Snr Sgt Furniss said police had evacuated the unit and adjoining units and called the Alice Springs Fire and Rescue Service and St John Ambulance.
He said fire fighters had ventilated the unit to make it safe, while paramedics had assessed the woman and taken her to hospital as a precaution.
Snr Sgt Furniss said the police officer’s actions could have saved the woman’s life.
“If gas gathers in an enclosed space, you can actually asphyxiate,” he said.
“If it wasn’t for that police officer, if he hadn't smelt the gas and acted upon it … it could have been a far worse result.”
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Alice Springs Fire Service district officer David Letheby said the incident was good reminder for Central Australia residents to check their gas fittings, appliances and chimneys in the lead-up to winter.
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