24 families relocated after gas leak discovered at Columbia public housing complex
The Columbia Fire Department has discovered a gas leak at the St. Andrews Terrace public housing complex, and 24 families have been relocated to local hotels, Ivory Mathews, the Columbia Housing Authority’s CEO, said on Friday.
The housing authority is relocating the families from the property at 201-2026 St. Andrews Terrace Road. The authority is currently working with Dominion Energy to disconnect the gas supply there until the source of the leak is determined.
Columbia Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins said the fire department sent a crew to the property earlier Friday after a resident there called saying they smelled gas.
A leak was detected in the kitchen of one apartment, though Jenkins said it’s possible there could also be leaks elsewhere in the building.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we are cutting off the gas and getting our families to a safe location until we can determine exactly where the gas fumes are coming from and how it can be remedied,” Housing Authority CEO Ivory Mathews said in a statement. “We are working closely with our families, the City of Columbia, the Columbia Fire Department, Dominion Energy and surrounding communities to make our families’ transition to temporary housing go as smoothly as possible.”
Tenants at the property received a letter Friday afternoon informing them that there would be no hot water or cooking fuel over the weekend. They were given two options — stay at a hotel paid for by the housing authority until the water and cooking fuel are turned back on, or stay with family and friends and receive a $500 check to cover any expenses incurred over the next five days.
In 2019, the housing authority came under fire after two residents died of carbon monoxide poisoning at the now-shuttered Allen Benedict Court public housing complex. A subsequent city investigation found 869 code violations, including missing carbon monoxide detectors, faulty fire alarms, and exposed wires.
Jenkins said Friday that the fire department inspected the St. Andrews Terrace property for other code enforcement violations while they were there but the only issue they found was the gas leak.
“I’m glad they agreed to take people out of there until they can get this repaired,” he said. “We wouldn’t want anything tragic to happen.”
This is a developing story. Check back for more details.
This story was originally published May 21, 2021 at 2:52 PM.
