ANDOVER — Michelle Vassilopoulos said she was lucky to be sitting near a large, open window yesterday morning when her 6-year-old son Alexander complained of feeling sick.
"I thought, 'Oh, that's an odd smell," said Vassilopoulos. "I quickly grabbed the kids and the phone and went outside."
A natural gas leak at the corner of Lincoln and Lowell streets closed a portion of Route 133 yesterday morning, causing detours for commuters and a scare for some area residents.
Andover firefighters received a 911 call from Vassilopoulos at 8:54 a.m. reporting the odor of gas both inside and outside her 121 Lowell St. home.
The leak was caused when a passing vehicle ran over a steel plate set atop a construction trench, tipping the plate downward into the trench far enough to sever a cast-iron gas line.
The accident comes at the tail end of a project to connect West Middle and Andover High schools to a natural gas feed operated by Bay State Gas Co.
Work yesterday was being done by project subcontractor Midway Utility Contractors LLC.
"They think it was a passenger vehicle that went by," said Bay State Gas Co. spokesman Don DiNunno. "It was a corner of the trench, where the plate tipped into the trench and hit the pipe. We don't know who did it."
Route 133 was soon closed off for a half-mile stretch between Arthur Road and Beacon Street.
"Once Lt. Robert Stabile got on scene he discovered the seriousness of the situation and requested that Lowell Street be blocked off on each end," said Andover fire Chief Michael Mansfield. "We always want to err on the side of safety with these things."
DiNunno said the gas line was permanently repaired without service being shut off by 10:30 a.m.
An ambulance and a pair of fire engines and ladder trucks had already responded by that time.
Firefighters accompanied Bay State Gas Co. workers, who went door-to-door at a dozen homes on Lowell and Lincoln streets checking for signs of gas inside.
Traces of gas were found in several homes, according to Deputy fire Chief Al Deldotto.
"They vented right away and that was the end of it," said Deldotto.
Firefighters deemed the area safe at 10:03 a.m. and left the scene just after 10:30.
Vassilopoulos was the only resident told not to immediately return to her home.
She and her two children, including daughter Ava, 3, temporarily went to a neighbor's house.
Vassilopoulos said she could not stop thinking yesterday about a picture taken several years ago of children's toys scattered around the site of a previous home gas explosion.
"That's all I could think about," said Vassilopoulos. "This was almost that same scenario. I feel like if I hadn't made a phone call there would be something worse."
Lee Munger, of 96 Lowell St., said he was happy to see the heavy public safety response.
He also noted there have been incidents of homes exploding in other communities.
"Better safe than sorry," said Munger.
Gas service to Andover High School was expected to be completed yesterday, while the gas line to West Middle School was completed earlier this week, DiNunno said.
Contractors must restore the roadway before the project is complete, he said.
"Essentially in a day they should be wrapped up and out of there," DiNunno said.
