Sunday, March 02, 2008

What a gas...

I had to call the fire department this evening around 9:15ish. Out of nowhere, I started smelling natural gas. I heat my house with natural gas, so I immediately started checking around the stove and in the basement. It seemed strongest at the back of the house, but not so much in the basement.

I opened the door to check outside and "WOW!" I grabbed my coat and a flash light and headed out. The neighbors have been doing some major construction so I though maybe they broke some line somewhere. Nope, It was coming from somewhere else and whereever it was... It wasn't good.

I called 911. The fire and police departments came down. The police officer who was first on scene noticed it immediately. I noted to the 911 dispatcher and to the officer that there is a gas well across the river that might have popped off. A check in and around the houses found nothing, so they sent a police cruiser over to the well site. He called back that it was really bad over there. The fire department had 911 call the well operators to have them check on it.

The smell slowly broke down, but I had a pretty good dose of it in my house. These are the times when I wish I'd already been able to replace the old windows and doors in this place. I turned up the ceiling fan in the kitchen and opened a window out on the back porch to help blow out the smell, without drafting out too much of my green out of my wallet in heating costs.

Things seem ok now. Hopefully, whatever caused it is remedied and this doesn't become a nightly thing.