Car Crash Triggers Gas Leak, Evacuation at Pasadena Office Building

A commercial building at 70 S. Lake Ave. in Pasadena, as pictured in a Google Street View image.

Firefighters evacuated a six-story office building in Pasadena on Monday after a car crashed into a gas main in the facility’s parking structure, causing a leak, officials said.

The mishap was reported shortly before noon at 70 S. Lake Ave., at the corner of Lake Avenue and Green Street, according to Pasadena police and fire officials.

Firefighters work at the scene of a car crash that resulted in a natural gas leak at an office building at Lake Avenue and Green Street in Pasadena on July 26, 2021. (Credit: Dylan Littlefield)

Firefighters responded and discovered a significant amount of natural gas leaking from the broken line, according to Pasadena Fire Department radio traffic.

Officials evacuated the building and asked others nearby to “shelter in place” as they addressed the leak, Pasadena police Lt. Anthony Burgess said.

Firefighters work at the scene of a car crash that resulted in a natural gas leak at an office building at Lake Avenue and Green Street in Pasadena on July 26, 2021. (Credit: Dylan Littlefield)

The flow was shut off in a little over 30 minutes, according to radio traffic.

Further details regarding the crash that triggered the gas leak were not immediately available.