Lewiston city officials wrote a letter to Northern Utilities requesting information.

LEWISTON – In the aftermath of a Monday afternoon explosion on Main Street, city leaders want to know exactly where all of the natural gas lines are buried and what they are made of.

City Administrator James Bennett and Mayor Lionel Guay on Thursday wrote a letter to Northern Utilities requesting the information.

“We don’t want to panic,” Bennett said Thursday. “But we don’t want to take anything for granted.”

The request was in response to a blast that demolished the former Hotel Holly and sent five people to the hospital Monday afternoon.

Fire investigators believe the explosion was caused by natural gas, which may have leaked from an abandoned line and seeped into the basement of the old hotel. Recent cold weather may have caused a break in the line, investigators said.

Officials at Northern Utilities said they are conducting their own investigation and would not comment on the matter until it is complete.

Bennett Thursday said city leaders want to know more about the integrity of gas lines running beneath Lewiston.

“We know where all the lines are,” he said. “But we don’t know what kinds of lines they are.”

In their letter to Northern Utilities, Bennett and Guay requested the location of specific lines and distribution systems as well as the type of material of each line and the date of installation.

Fire officials have said there is no reason to believe further explosions will occur, even with arctic temperatures moving into the area.

“I am no more afraid of a natural gas leak today than I was before the explosion,” said Lewiston fire Chief Michel Lajoie.