Employees at the Dollar Tree on East Main Street wait outside the store before the leaking furnace was deactivated. The sign on the left side of the sliding door reads, “Temporarily closed.” (Photo by Peter Currier)
WESTFIELD- The Dollar Tree at the Westfield Shops on East Main Street was temporarily closed on Wednesday around noon due to a leak of natural gas in the building.
Employees briefly left the building and waited outside as crews from Westfield Gas and Electric controlled the leak. Westfield Fire Chief Patrick Egloff said that the leak came from an older furnace inside the building.
“We were called to that address for the smell of natural gas, a slow leak was found at an older furnace and Westfield Gas & Electric shut off the gas to the appliance,” said Egloff.
He added that the furnace was located in a vacant section of the building and that no evacuation was needed. The store was open for business soon after it was shut off. Neighboring stores were not affected by the leak.
The employees and management from the Dollar Tree were unable to comment.
Peter Currier can be reached at [email protected].
