Photos: Gas fire shuts down Langford Parkway

South Fulton County

Photos: Gas fire shuts down Langford Parkway

Repairs continued Thursday morning after a gas fire at the Sylvan Road exit closed Langford Parkway (Ga. 166) the morning of Sept. 20 as firefighters worked to extinguish the flames.

Crews were making repairs Thursday morning after a massive fire tore through a section of Sylvan Road the previous day.

With the Atlanta skyline in the background, crews work to repair the damage Thursday morning after the gas fire.

A gas fire at the Sylvan Road exit has shut down Langford Parkway (Ga. 166).

The closure snarled mid-morning traffic on the major thoroughfare.

Ga. 166 serves as a connector between I-75/85 heading into downtown and the west wall of I-285.

Firefighters work to contain the situation as a burned-out vehicle smolders.

September 20, 2023 Atlanta: Firefighters continued to battle a massive gas fire in southwest Atlanta on Wednesday morning, Sept. 20, 2023 shut down several roads, including a major highway. The blaze was reported around 10:45 a.m. at 2049 Sylvan Road near the entrance to Langford Parkway in the Sylvan Hills neighborhood. Photos showed flames engulfing a charred vehicle and spread along a section of the road and sidewalk. A contractor was working on a 4-inch plastic natural gas main line and damaged it, causing his tractor to ignite, which then spread to an area surrounding a Chevron gas station, Atlanta Gas Light spokesperson Holly Lovett told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She noted that the work and digging by the contractor, who wasn’t part of their company, was done outside of the gas station. “The flames got pretty big, causing things around the Chevron to catch on fire,” she said. Over the next hour, firefighters worked to tackle the blaze. By 12:05 p.m., the gas was turned off and the area was secured, Lovett said. Most of the flames had been extinguished by 12:20 p.m. “Atlanta Gas Light crews are on the scene working with first responders to safely secure the area,” the company said in a statement. “Once the area is safe, Atlanta Gas Light will work to make repairs. There are no outages for customers at this time and no injuries have been reported.” Some businesses in the area had to be evacuated, Channel 2 Action News reported, including a nearby day care. The people who were in the car that caught on fire got out safely, according to the news station. According to the Georgia Department of Transportation, all westbound lanes were blocked on Langford Parkway at Sylvan Road. Drivers were asked to use I-20 or Metropolitan Parkway. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Standing on Sylvan Road, Atlanta firefighters study the conflagration, which burned beneath the Ga. 166 overpass (top of photo).

Tinesha Teasley, along with her children and young family members watch the fire from a safe distance on Wednesday.

A contractor was working on a 4-inch plastic natural gas main line and damaged it, causing his tractor to ignite, which then spread to an area surrounding a Chevron gas station, Atlanta Gas Light spokesperson Holly Lovett told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. -- David Aaro, AJC

“The flames got pretty big, causing things around the Chevron to catch on fire,” Lovett said. -- David Aaro, AJC

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Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com

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