A natural gas leak caused some employees and customers in downtown Lawrence to be temporarily evacuated from buildings this morning.

The gas leak happened behind Free State Brewery building in the 600 block of Massachusetts, said Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical Battalion Chief Bill Stark.

“Someone with the Free State building was doing some maintenance work and tried to shut off the gas,” he said.

A call regarding the gas leak was received by the Douglas County Emergency Communications at 9:28 p.m., a dispatcher said. Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical was then dispatched to the scene.

People could smell the natural gas outside and also hear a hissing noise coming from the location where the leak stemmed from.

Aquila technicians shut off the gas and repaired a valve, Stark said. The leak shouldn’t hinder business too much, he said.

“Everything is under control and OK,” Stark said.

Firefighters checked buildings on the east side of the 600 block of Massachusetts for potential problems relating to the gas leak.

They also evacuated employees at Free State. Lawrence Journal-World, 6News and World Online employees also were evacuated from their office building at the News Center, which is across a north-south alley behind Free State Brewery.

Employees were allowed to return to their workplaces by 10:15 a.m.