Car crash causes gas leak on Franklin Street

LACONIA — Elm Street was closed for several hours on Thursday afternoon, and many residences had their utility service interrupted, after a vehicle collided with a building.

The interruption was caused when a silver Subaru Forester crashed into a residential building at the corner of Franklin and Elm Street at 1:19 p.m. on Thursday. The impact destroyed a gas meter mounted on the side of the building, causing a large gas leak that could be smelled from Union Avenue. Fire engines from Belmont, Gifford and Laconia responded to the scene and utilized multiple hoses to soak the crash site.

“They’re trying to disperse the vapors,” explained Laconia Fire Chief Kirk Beattie. “It’ll make it less likely to explode.”

Crews hosed down the vehicle for nearly an hour as personnel from Liberty Utilities arrived to shut off gas to the immediate area. 

Police erected a barricade and cordoned off Elm Street for nearly four hours. Both the struck building and surrounding structures were evacuated by the departments. 

Crews were unable to initially enter the building due to damage from the crash. One firefighter described the damage as “a hole you could walk through” in the side of the structure. A member of the city code enforcement office arrived to inspect the damage, but had to wait until the crash site was cleared to do so. 

The driver of the Subaru was transported due to minor injuries, according to Beattie.