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A Fort Dodge hotel was evacuated Friday afternoon when a broken pipe allowed a high concentration of natural gas to flow into the building.
The gas leak happened at the Cobblestone Inn & Suites at 523 Kirkberg Blvd. on the east side of the city.
Fire Department Capt. Jeff Hill said a gas meter outside the building was hit by a lawn mower, which caused a gas pipe inside the building to break. That released gas into the building.
The hotel staff evacuated the building. MidAmerican Energy and the Fire Department were called.
Hill said firefighters using air monitoring devices found high levels of natural gas in the building. They checked every hotel room to make sure no one was inside. They also ventilated the building.
Firefighters left the scene at 5:21 p.m. after the natural gas levels in the building dropped to a safe level.