Workers from Peoples natural gas purged gas lines Wednesday in the Rustic Ridge neighborhood in preparation for restoring gas service to residents there.

According to the borough, the work took place along Rustic Ridge and Brookside drives and Timberwood Court.

Peoples spokesman Nick Paradise said purging the lines is part of the process to restore gas service by removing any air in the lines and reenergizing the system.

Testing of the system with the Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office and the state Public Utility Commission was completed Tuesday night.

Natural gas service was expected to be restored to customers in the explosion site area by the end of the day Wednesday, according to Peoples, which sent technicians door to door to conduct a safety check and relight appliances.

Authorities are continuing to investigate after Saturday’s house explosion on Rustic Ridge Drive in which six people were killed and two were injured. Three houses were destroyed and numerous others were damaged, some beyond repair.

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