Gas leak at Aptiv prompts evacuation

Published 10:47 am Thursday, August 8, 2019

A gas leak at Aptiv in Brookhaven Thursday morning forced employees outside as a precaution, but the line was quickly shut off and after an OK from the utility company, it was back to business as usual.

“Once they got the OK, they got back to going again,” said Brookhaven Fire Chief Tony Weeks.

Brookhaven police and fire as well as Lincoln County Emergency Management responded to the call of a gas leak at the business formally known as Delphi on Industrial Park Road NE shortly after 10 a.m.

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“A forklift broke a gas pipe,” Weeks said. “It wasn’t gas to the whole building. They had an independent valve so they could shut it off.”

CenterPoint Energy checked the lines and a maintenance crew fixed the break.

“It was really no big deal,” Weeks said. “It could have been, but it wasn’t.”

The fire chief said everyone at Aptiv followed protocol and the situation was handled properly. No injuries were reported.

Aptiv designs and produces electronic systems and safety technology for automated vehicles. The plant has been in operation since 1977. Aptiv is headquartered in Ireland, and has facilities across the country.