Gas Main Fire at Rosemont College Injures 3

A gas main explosion at Rosemont College injured three workers late Wednesday afternoon.

According to Lower Merion fire chief Charles McGarvey, sometime before 4 p.m., a contractor working on the school’s new athletic fields hit a gas line, causing a small explosion. 

A PECO spokesperson told CBS3 that the worker, a non-PECO employee, hit a 4-inch natural gas vein with a construction auger. 

The resulting flames burned three workers (though McGarvey characterized the injuries as minor, two of the men were transported by ambulance to an area hospital while a third refused treatment at the scene) and necessitated the evacuation of a campus building.

At approximately 5:30 p.m., PECO was able to turn off the gas line and Lower Merion fire personnel subsequently put out the fire.