A gas leak outside the Mall at Rockingham Park caused the mall to be temporarily evacuated on the morning of Tuesday, May 5.
According to Fire Marshall Jeff Emanuelson, the fire department was called to the mall just after 11:30 a.m., for a reported gas leak outside the building. Fire crew found a significant natural gas leak coming from a one inch gas line that had been broken.
The mall began its emergency evacuation procedures, but stopped after about 10 minutes because the gas had been turned off and the threat had been mitigated, Emanuelson said. If the gas had infiltrated an area with an ignition source, it could have caused an explosion, he said.
Emanuelson said the leak appeared to have been started by a vehicle hitting a manifold on the side of the mall near the food court.
