Dominion East Ohio crews responded to a series of fires Monday morning in the northern Ohio village of Fairport Harbor, which is northeast of Cleveland. No injuries had been reported as of late Monday morning. Officials were blaming the fires on built-up pressure in natural gas lines.

An explosion at a home was thought to be due to the excess pressure. A series of fires followed.

“Dominion East Ohio crews arrived and are remaining there with emergency responders to assist with the ongoing investigation,” the utility said.

The utility said leak detection was being conducted by its crews throughout the city. “Crews are going into each affected home where they will turn off the gas, conduct an inspection and check all appliances,” the company said. “There are approximately 1,500 homes being inspected…”

To enable the leak detection operation, the utility initiated outbound calls to the affected customers to gain access to individual properties.

“In addition to calling all affected households, the company has pulled in additional resources to canvass each neighborhood, so that we can begin the process of inspecting customer homes and restoring natural gas service,” the company said. “Once inside the home, Dominion East Ohio crews will turn off the gas, conduct an inspection, check all appliances and the meter and restore service. If service cannot be restored on Monday, the company is assisting those customers with temporary lodging.”

An Associated Press report said fire officials said a dozen or more fires were reported. An evacuation was ordered, but after the situation was stabilized, residents were told to shut off their gas and stay home.

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