One of the workers alerted staff at the Little Angels Nursery next to the church as well as the Millgrove Majors, a daycare facility in the church for children from Junior Kindergarten to age 12.

Four infants and nine toddlers from Little Angels were evacuated to the Millgrove Children's Centre, a pre-school directly across the road while 10 Junior and Senior Kindergartners and eight school-aged children from the daycare were escorted by staff from the church to the nearby Millgrove Library.

Wendy Teed, who owns and operates all three childcare facilities, said the evacuation went smoothly. "I was really proud of my staff and how they reacted," she said. "Not even one baby was crying, despite being uprooted and taken to an unfamiliar environment."

After ensuring that the children and staff were in a safe place and all were accounted for, Teed called 911.

"I could hear the gas going up (from the ground)," she said. "It was scary."

Before police and emergency crews arrived on the scene, a roadblock was set up along the 5th Concession from Millgrove Sideroad to well east of the church. Some parents, who had been called by nursery and daycare staff to pick up their children, had to walk in from the roadblocks. The library stayed open beyond its normal operating hours to facilitate the pickup of the children.

A Union Gas crew from the Burlington area arrived at the church shortly after being notified of the punctured line around 4:30 p.m. After assessing the situation, they shut off the gas valve and repaired the line.

"It was routine work," said Elie Atme, district manager of Union Gas for the Hamilton/Halton district. The 1-1/4-inch plastic line was repaired without incident.

Anyone working beside gas lines should take "particular care and caution," Atme advised. He suggested that people call 1-800-400-2255 or go online at www.on1call.com before digging or working near a line.

While details are sketchy about the cause of Monday's line break, a Union Gas spokesman said workers had laid down a cement pad in front of the church to do some restoration work on the church bell. It's believed that a steel rod in the cement caused the break in the gas line.

Everything was back to normal Tuesday, with the Little Angels and Millgrove Majors' facilities back in full swing.

But Monday's incident served as a good reminder of the importance of being ready to respond to a possible emergency. Daycare and nursery school staff reacted quickly and efficiently, as did emergency services personnel.