RUMFORD – A gas leak Monday morning forced the evacuation of nearly 60 customers and employees from Hannaford supermarket.

David Duguay, manager of the Lincoln Avenue store, said the gauge on the four 1,000-gallon propane tanks located at the rear of the store had apparently been knocked off by a contractor earlier in the morning.

That resulted in the release of gas fumes on the outside of the supermarket. Those fumes then leaked into a back storage room, most likely blown in by the wind, Duguay said.

He immediately evacuated the store and called the Rumford Fire Department.

Deputy fire Chief Richard Coulombe said two fire trucks and five firefighters from his department and seven or eight Mexico firefighters with one engine responded.

Firefighters turned off the gas, then used water to dissipate the fumes.

The interior of the store, which Coulombe said never had any gas seep into it, was checked to make sure it was safe for employees and customers to return.

Duguay said a technician from Dead River Co., which supplies the gas, repaired the valve.

He said none of the store’s products and few customer sales were lost because most people returned to the store.

The store was evacuated at 8:30 a.m. People were allowed back in at about 9:05 a.m.

He said the store has experienced several evacuations in the past, mostly as a result of false alarms.