Gas leak leads to evacuation

Approximately 50 people were evacuated from homes and businesses in downtown Palatine for close to five hours Monday after a construction crew cracked a gas line.

The Palatine Fire Department responded to a call about 10 a.m. Monday and found that a 2.5-inch gas line had been broken at the intersection of Palatine Road and Greeley Street and was leaking, according to the department. Fire department personnel detected natural gas in the neighboring multifamily buildings and, along with the police department and Nicor, evacuated homes and businesses in the area of the leak.

The fire department remained on the scene until the leak was plugged at 3 p.m.

There were no injuries.