A propane leak at the Sobeys store in downtown Charlottetown led to shoppers being evacuated out of the store Wednesday night.
The call came in about 7:45 p.m., reporting that a white mist was seen blasting out of a large propane tank on the Allen Street side of the grocery store.
The report also noted pipes icing over and a loud hissing sound coming from the area.
The store was immediately evacuated but the Garment District store behind Sobeys remained open and in operation throughout the event.
Charlottetown Fire Chief Randy MacDonald said a broader evacuation was not ordered because an emergency system built into the tank had activated, shutting off gas flow to the area of broken pipe.
A propane technician was at the scene and the area cordoned off while the unit was stabilized.
Firefighters cleared the area about an hour later.
Just a few hundred metres east on Allen Street is an Irving propane distribution yard. A leak there last September resulted in area residents being evacuated from their homes.
Soon after, Charlottetown Coun. Mitchell Tweel led a demand for the propane distribution site to be moved.
Wednesday’s event was not similar at all, said MacDonald, and did not involve the propane distribution plant.
“This is a very moderate situation here,” he said at the scene. “The tanks have been shut off and the situation is well in hand.”
What happened to the food you were getting?