Couple wakes to gas leak

After arriving home around 4 a.m., the last thing a Green River couple thought they would see upon waking up is an officer standing near their bed.

On Sunday morning at about 8:15 a.m., Josh and Crystal House were woken up by Green River Police Department officers and Green River Fire Department firefighters.

Josh said the whole experience was hazy and he’s not sure if it’s because of the gas he inhaled when their home had a gas leak, being overly tired from a long trip home or a combination of the two.

“We may have been a little drugged, I don’t know,” Josh said.

GRFD assistant chief Bill Robinson said the call they received was from a neighbor who stated they could smell gas and what sounded like water running. After arriving at the scene, firefighters quickly located the problem: the line was spraying near the meter and gas was shooting out all over the house and yard.

Robinson said they shut the gas off to the home and started to talk to neighbors to determine in someone was in the home.

Some neighbors thought the Houses were gone, while others insisted they were home. He said there was enough people who thought they were home, so firefighters and GRPD officers entered the home.

Both Crystal and Josh can recall GRPD officers and firefighters in the home and being woken up by them, but everything happened quickly.

John said the officer on his side of the bed kept a safe distance between them. He figured the officers had no idea how they would respond to be woken up.

“They are very well trained,” Josh said.

He said he was shocked, groggy and can remember stumbling around.

“We wanted to make sure they were awake,” Robinson said. “We were able to get them safe and out of there.”

“As for the authorities, they were very pleasant, worried and concerned,” he said.

Josh and Crystal soon learned from officers and firefighters that the gas line right outside their bedroom window had been leaking and more than one neighbor had called the leak in.

“It was a very interesting morning,” Josh said.

Josh found out the gas leak was so strong the entire neighborhood could smell it. He also learned the GRFD turned the gas off before Dominion Energy arrived to fix the problem.

“We were unaware of it completely,” he said.

Crystal said she never smelled the gas even after they told her it had been leaking, but she didn’t have to, others smelled it and reported the smell to authorities.

Robinson said the neighbors did the right thing.

Had they not reported the gas leak, things could have turned out badly because gas had entered the house.

“If it hadn’t been for the neighbors, we never would have been notified and took the action we did,” Robinson said.

As for not hearing the officers, she said she was too exhausted.

“I was so tired. The dogs didn’t go crazy, and I thought it was the kids coming home,” Crystal said.

She has two children who weren’t at home that night.

“I’m glad they weren’t home,” Crystal said. “I’m glad it was just us. They probably would have freaked out.”

The repairs didn’t take long and everything was over by 9 a.m., Josh recalled. He felt all involved acted quickly and appropriately.

“It was all very delightful except for the thought of near death,” Josh said.

 

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