Gas leak prompts evacuation of Coquitlam Centre
Holiday shoppers at Coquitlam Centre mall were evacuated Sunday afternoon after a gas leak was discovered near the loading dock of the Bay department store.
Coquitlam Fire and Rescue was on the scene shortly after 3:20 p.m. and Fortis was able to isolate the flow of gas and fix the leak.
Assistant fire chief Jim Ogloff said the evacuation was precautionary and the danger of a potential explosion was mitigated by the fact that the leak was outside the mall.
"They did the right thing with the evacuation," he said. "You never want to take a chance."
The evacuation was announced over the mall's public address system at around 3:15 and shoppers were able to return by 4 p.m.
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