Crime & Safety

Contractor Strikes Gas Line Outside Montgomery Mall

Odor of gas shuts down parking lot, entrance near movie theater; no evacuations ordered.

Update, 3 p.m.: The Westfield Montgomery Mall reported via its Twitter account around 2:45 p.m. that all mall entrances were open.

Original post, 2 p.m.: Montgomery County Fire and Rescue has closed off a parking garage and an entrance to the near the movie theaters after a contractor struck a gas line outside the mall.

There was an odor of gas in the parking garage, but no gas detected inside the mall, according to Capt. Oscar Garcia, an MCFRS spokesman. No evacuations were ordered, Garcia said.

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Those parked in the parking garage near the movie theaters and the food court were not being allowed back to their cars shortly before 2 p.m. Wednesday, but the garage and entrance were expected to re-open soon, Garcia said.

Officials responded around 1 p.m. Wednesday and the gas was shut off around 1:36 p.m., Garcia said.

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