Mystery smell dissipates after prompting 911 calls

LORAIN, OH — A pungent odor invaded a local community, forcing many concerned residents to call 911. The smell was gone by Tuesday night, but it lingered over Lorain for several hours Tuesday morning.

“I smell gas down here on West 21st Street and I don’t know where it’s coming from, but it’s pretty strong down here,” said one 911 caller.

“I got a strong odor of gas in my apartment, it just woke me out of my sleep,” said another.

Lorain firefighters responded to calls from all over the city between 5 a.m. 9 a.m. Tuesday. The complaints are all the same.

“It’s a real, real strong propane smell,” said another 911 caller.

“It just smelled like gas, it was a really bad smell, and everything, and I smelled it all the way from my house, all the way up to the high school and everything,” said Lorain resident Samantha Haupt.

“First time I remember it being quite so widespread,” said Assistant Fire Chief Gary Burls.

He said firefighters checked all possible sources for the odor, but ruled them out as the cause.

“Our own sewage treatment plant, the steel plant, we have some unloading docks, even the water treatment plant,” said Burls.

Firefighters then called the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and came to the conclusion that the foul smell was coming from Lake Erie.

“The theory that seems to make the most sense is that there was an algae bloom in the lake, which involved dead and dying algae that would normally sink to the bottom of the lake, being brought to the surface by the storm last night,” said Burls.

Many Lorain residents can’t believe such a horrible smell could come from the lake.

“I thought my car was leaking because I got out and looked underneath and I’m like, I smelled it and my car wasn’t even started and I’m looking around, looking around. I kept smelling it everywhere I went, not even close to a gas station,” said Lorain resident Michael Sinclair.

Assistant Chief Burls said the smell only lasted about four hours, then dissipated around the same time fog lifted this morning.

He urges anyone who smells an odor of gas to call the fire department.

Read the story here.

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