UPDATE: Gas Leak Suspected in Destructive Laurel Springs Fire
Fire destroys a home on West Brookline Drive, in Gloucester Township's Laurel Springs section, early Friday.
UPDATE 11:22 a.m. 12/21: Investigators believe a gas leak caused an explosion that sparked the destructive fire at 35 W. Brookline Dr. early Friday. No one was injured in the fire. Eight nearby Broadmoor West homes were evacuated as a precaution Friday morning, according to Gloucester Township Police Deputy Chief David Harkins. It could take up to eight hours for South Jersey Gas to clear the residents to return to their evacuated homes, Harkins said around 10:15 a.m. Tax records list John and Nancy Colaianni as the owners of 35 W. Brookline Dr. The Colaiannis were home with their two adult daughters when they heard an explosion in the basement, Harkins said. They were able to escape uninjured before the fire consumed their two-story …
