Daycare Briefly Evacuated Due to Nearby Gas Leak

A gas leak on a Sinco Place property briefly forced an evacuation of a daycare in East Hampton Tuesday afternoon.

East Hampton police and firefighters responded to the leak around 10 a.m. in the area of My School Learning Center, located at 1 Sinco Place. There were 22 children in the building at the time, as well as nine staff members, said Director Veronica Phelps.

The evacuation, however, was just precautionary, as police, firefighters and gas line workers were able to shut off the line where the leak was coming from. No one was injured.

But in the meantime, what transpired was, as Phelps put it, a well-executed exercise in emergency preparedness for the daycare. Right when the school was notified of the leak, the staff members instituted an evacuation plan, putting all 22 students onto a school bus, which the bus company dispatched promptly, she said.

Then, police said emergency responders got there in time to shut off the leak and test the area for gas levels using their gas meters, Phelps said. Within 20 minutes, police, firefighters located the source and determined the school safe for reentry, officials said.

Phelps praised all of those involved in the response process for doing a “phenomenal” job; everyone from the emergency responders to the bus company to he landlord who showed up.

“Everyone responded exactly as they wanted to,” she said. “It was a comforting thing.”

And the 22 children got to take a 15-minute bus ride while the gas leak was dealt with, she said.

“I’m very proud of them and of how everything worked out,” Phelps said.