Homes evacuated due to major gas leak in Blackburn town centre Homes have been evacuated and roads closed after a major gas leak was detected following a fire in Blackburn town centre. On Saturday morning, fire crews from Blackburn were sent to Richmond Terrace in the town after receiving calls about an electrical cable under the pavement which had caught fire. Firefighters extinguished the flames, and Cadent Gas were called to assess the severity of the situation. A number of homes were evacuated while this took place, but on inspection, it appeared there had been a mains gas leak and several roads had to be closed, with a 100m cordon set up.