UPDATED: Gas Leak Evacuates 3 Buildings, Causes Lane Closure in Melville

Updated at 6 p.m. with additional information:

MELVILLE, NY- Three buildings and part of Route 110 in Melville was closed Tuesday after fire officials received a report of a gas leak that could have potentially caused an explosion.

According to authorities, a gas leak occurred inside 685 Walt Whitman Road at approximately 1 p.m., causing that building and neighboring buildings, located at 677 and 691 Walt Whitman Road, to be evacuated.

The building where the gas leak occurred belongs to liquor store Barrels & Stills.

Melville Assistant Fire Chief David Kaplan told News 12 the gas readings at Barrels & Stills were above 5 percent, putting it at the “explosive level.”

Store owners Raj Rametra and Krinal Patel said they have been calling National Grid about the smell of gas since Thanksgiving and many customers commented on the smell when they visited the store despite officials telling the owners “everything is okay,” News 12 reports.

FV Cleaners, a dry cleaning and laundry company, is located at 677 Walt Whitman Road and a commercial building occupied by multiple businesses is located at 681 Walt Whitman Road.

As of 2:45 p.m., the southbound right lane of Route 110 was closed south of Stiles Drive due to the gas leak, police said.

The leakage reportedly came from a pipe along Walt Whitman Road that traveled through the crawl space into the store, according to News 12.

The Melville Fire Department and National Grid responded to the scene and are investigating the incident, police said. No injures were reported.

This is a developing story. Refresh the page for updates.

Editor’s Note: The gas leak occurred Tuesday (not Monday) at 685 Walt Whitman Road and not 685 Broadhollow Road. Patch regrets this error.