Cause of Water Tank Collapse Not Yet Known

Wilmington Fire Lt. Dan Hurley said late Friday night that the cause of a is not yet known.

The collapse, which occurred at about 6 p.m., forced the evacuation of homes on nearby Blueberry Lane because of an ensuing gas leak.

"It was a pretty good (gas) release," said Hurley. "The way the wind was taking the gas to the residential section, they had an engine and ambulance go over there and have them evacuate just for precautionary reasons."

Hurley said the tank was the water supply for only Jonspin Road. As of about 10 p.m. on Friday night firefighters were still working to restore full water pressure to the domestic and sprinkler systems in the buildings.

Jonspin Road is a located just off of Andover Street and includes businesses like UniFirst, Heilind Electronics, Thermo Fisher Scientific and P.J. Dionne Company, Inc., the location where the collapse occurred.

There is a section of woods in between the industrial area and Blueberry Lane, where residents were able to return to their homes after only about 15 minutes following the evacuation.

When the tank fell, it brought down trees and landed on or near multiple pick up trucks on the P.J. Dionne property. No one was injured during the collapse.