‘Very serious gas leak' averted, blocks from 2019 Woodman Ave. explosion
A police cruiser guides an access point along Central Avenue near the site of a gas leak that resulted in an evacuation on June 19, 2025. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)
Old East Village (OEV) residents are breathing a sigh of relief after what fire officials dubbed 'a very serious gas leak' was brought under control Thursday afternoon.
Two dozen London firefighters responded to the 800 block of Central Avenue, between Ontario and English, around 11:30 a.m.
Platoon Chief Gary Mosburger told CTV News London that a main gas line was accidentally struck during ongoing road construction.
Residents in the area were told to leave.
'We began an evacuation of anybody that was close by, as well as establishing hose lines in place to ensure the safety of our people here,' he said.
Efforts to shut down the line initially failed, resulting in preparations for a wider evacuation, including sending out notifications to residents using the Alert London system.
Gary Mosburger
Platoon Chief Gary Mosburger is seen moments after the 'all clear' was given following a gas leak on Central Avenue on June 19, 2025. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)
Thankfully, the actions were not needed. Shortly after 12:30 p.m., Enbridge Gas shut down the line using remote technology.
No one was injured.
The incident occurred just a few blocks west of the 2019 Woodman Avenue gas explosion that destroyed three homes and left the OEV community and emergency responders scarred.
'Woodman Avenue is not that far in our in our memory,' said Mosburger. 'Obviously, bad things can happen in this case. We learned a lot from that incident. And, of course, today the quick action by London fire crews, by Enbridge Gas and everybody here on the scene created a positive result.'
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