A gas leak at 775 Main Street South sent emergency crews scrambling Friday morning after a passerby called in the report around 8:15 a.m.
As a precaution, the entire plaza was evacuated, and all entrances and exits were closed off.
A flurry of vehicles from the Southbury Volunteer Fire Department (SVFD) and the Southbury Police Department responded to the incident, which was the result of a mini-excavation that had breached a two-inch gas main.
“One of the captains arrived on scene and noted a strike on the gas line,” said SVFD Assistant Chief Robert Barnes.
Eversource responded to the scene and confirmed the break, Barnes added.
During the evacuation, employees gathered on the lawn along the busy Main Street South corridor, which saw some disruption due to local traffic.
The gas was shut off to the building in the plaza that houses ShopRite. Officials warned that it might be a few hours before the gas is turned back on by the utility company.
By 9:30 a.m., ShopRite employees were allowed back into the building, and cars were allowed to enter the plaza. A manager for the supermarket declined to comment on the incident, though several employees suggested it was connected to ongoing renovations at the store.
The supermarket will be open today, the manager confirmed.
Other businesses in the plaza were slower to reopen.
Nearby Newtown Savings Bank closed its doors as emergency personnel units used its adjacent parking lot to stage for the scene, which included mutual aid from Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue’s Engine 441.
This story may be updated as it develops.
By Evan Triantafilidis
The Southbury Record 