Falling icicle causes gas leak, evacuation at Cedar Rapids apartment building

UPDATE: A huge icicle fell from a roof and struck a gas meter, causing a gas leak at a Cedar Rapids apartment complex Wednesday morning, officials said.

Firefighters responded to the Windsor on the River apartment building at 1906-1908 Buckingham Dr. NW around 7:15 a.m. for a smell of natural gas. Crews found a strong odor inside one of the apartments.

About half the residents of the 18-unit building were evacuated for about 30 minutes until the gas was turned off.

Battalion Chief John Pulver said the firefighters' gas monitors did not detect enough gas to cause an explosion, but the evacuations were ordered as a precaution.

Crews soon found the cause of the leak outside, at the back of the building. The falling icicle - one chunk of it was about 30 pounds - broke off a head on the gas regulator, Pulver said.

A MidAmerican Energy employee called to the scene said the incident is not common, but does happen occasionally.

“It's kind of a unique deal,” Pulver said. “I've never seen it do something like that.”

No one was injured in the incident, but Fire Department spokesman Greg Buelow said residents should avoid walking directly underneath overhangs or other places where icicles could fall.

The icicle that fell Wednesday morning “would have caused serious injury if it would have fallen on a victim,” Buelow said.