Gas main ruptures in south Kansas City, sparking fire and injuring 2 workers
Update: The area has been cleared and deemed “gas safe” and crews are beginning to make repairs, according to Spire Natural Gas.
The original story is below.
A gas main ruptured in south Kansas City Tuesday night, injuring at least two gas employees and sparking a fire, according to emergency responders.
Kansas City firefighters are responding to the leak near East 95th Street and Grandview Road in the Hidden Valley neighborhood of Kansas City, according to battalion Chief Michael Hopkins.
KCFD first responded to the leak around 5:20 p.m., Hopkins said, and discovered that a 12- to 14-inch gas main had been hit.
Employees of Spire Natural Gas began working Tuesday evening to dig out the leaky line, Hopkins said. Two were injured on the scene when a spark ignited the gas, Hopkins said.
Both injured employees have been transported to a local hospital in unknown condition, Hopkins said. As of 8 p.m., a gas fire is still burning at the site of the spark.
All power has been shut off in the area, along with the gas valves on either side of the broken gas line, Hopkins said. KCFD expects that Spire employees will be able to repair the line once the escaped gas has finished burning off.
Jason Merrill, a spokesperson for Spire, said Thursday night that the leak took place a third-party contractor working for another utility hit a Spire line. Merrill confirmed that two employees were injured and are being assessed at a nearby hospital.
This story was originally published April 22, 2025 at 8:21 PM.
