To evacuate or not to evacuate....what was the question??

After being away from home so much lately I shouldn't have indulged in a 'girls night out'. But Saturday I did just that. Craig watched the older kids so Dave was home with just sleeping babies most the night so it worked out okay... until the gas leak anyway.

I went out with Julie Clemens, Kena Toone and Christine Sawyer. They really are a fun bunch to be with. I had a great time. At the end of the evening I headed back to pick up Zach and Coleman at the Clemens house and Dave called to tell me that I couldn't come back home.
It was around 9pm. There was a gas leak at Smith's and the whole block was blocked off. He said that he could hear the tank 'screaming' as it leaked. When he walked out to the property edge he found out what was going on. He asked if anyone needed to be evacuated but was told no one knew yet and they would let people know if they did.
I hung out across town for almost an hour then attempted to go home. Mesquite Blvd was blocked off at Burger King. So I had to get on the highway and go around. Old Mill road was blocked off as far back as the Rec center. I did a loop around town and snuck in behind Maverick. Heading down dairy lane I spotted an officer at the corner of dairy lane and old mill. I told him that I was trying to get into Millstream and he told me that no one could go in and that Millstream was evacuated. I assured him that it wasn't evacuated because I was on my cell talking to my husband who was in there. Then I told him that if it needed to be evacuated that I needed to get in there because I was the manager. To that he said that I could leave my car and walk in. He said that no one needed to be evacuated now because they finally got the gas capped off and are in the clean up stage. He expected they would reopen the roads in 15-30 mins.
So we got out and walked into the complex.
After going inside and waiting 15 mins I decided to check on the roads so I could move my car in. I walked out to see a fireman taping off the property. He was putting up "Fire Line Do Not Cross" tape from one end of the property to the other. I ran up and asked him what he was doing. I thought it was over!? He yelled at me that I shouldn't be there since the apartments had been evacuated and that the gas was still leaking. He said that 500 gallons of propane was in the air all around us and that I was in danger even standing where I was. I yelled back that the apartments were never evacuated and that most of the residents weren't even aware of what was going on. As it was on my way out to talk to him I yelled at 2 people who were outside smoking oblivious to the whole thing!!
He told me that he would clear people out 'if he were me', then started to walk away. I yelled back that I needed help doing so....most of the front end apartments where the danger was are filled with elderly residents. I called Dave out and within 3 seconds he was out to help me knock on doors. The firefighter who had been putting up the tape saw Dave with me now and chastised us for being out in the gas because it was going to make us sick. I looked around at all the front apartments and cars in the parking lot and could tell that several residents we home. Even worse....three of them not even 75 feet from the leaking gas had their windows open. At that point I got really mad at the lack of help and called 911 dispatch. I explained that I had been told twice that they think Millstream had been evacuated but it hadn't. I had been told that the leak was sealed...then told it wasn't. Finally dispatch got some real answers. She talked to the chief of the Fire Department and the leak had been sealed but obviously the gas was still in the air. So we started knocking on doors and getting people to shut their windows. One of the windows that was open the whole time faced the street...in plain few of anyone looking at the building! Also during that time I caught 2 more people smoking who had no idea what was going on.

I REALLY hate to speak ill of police officers or fire fighters. Not only are several locally friends of ours, but I believe that people in those jobs are and should be considered heroes.

However, after what happened on Saturday I was absolutely disgusted with the lack of communication and organization. 500 gallons of gas were leaking right across the street, not even 75 feet from the closest apartment and residents weren't fully notified. My office was flooded with calls from residents concerned that they were right there in the 'front' apartments and never knew anything. One elderly resident said there was a door bell ring but by the time she go up to the door no one was there. From what I could tell someone walked through the property and told a handful of residents what was going on. Not only was no one evacuated but not even everyone was notified of what was going on.
If there was enough personnel to barricade roads as far back as the rec center and from burger king to 1st north then surely someone could have been spared to insure the safety of residents who sleeping 75 feet from the leak.
Not that I think a 500 gallon gas leak isn't a big deal, but after the chaos I witnessed I became extremely concerned about what would have happened if the situation was worse. Everyone thought someone else evacuated the apartments. They didn't even seem to understand how to do a proper evacuation. The apartments were not even secure, people were walking on SMOKING from the neighboring apartments without even knowing the situation. There was no one here. No one thought to secure the people. I hope there is some serious organizing and communication trainings for our emergency response personnel.

Well, sorry about that rant...but I suppose that is why we have blogs. It's bound to happen at some point. With all that is happening with work, home, my health, etc I have been feeling like my shoulders are carrying enough of a load. Faltering faith in local heroes is not a burden I want to have to add to it.