Major disaster avoided thanks to concerned neighbour

Chief Fire Prevention Officer Randy Vezina responded to a complaint at the Carruthers Street townhouse complex Friday, that resulted in the city removing improperly stored liquids.

“The complainant advised that there was a strong smell of gasoline in the neighbourhood, and there was a lot of gasoline left out on a wood deck,” he explained.

“So I attended the scene, and as soon as I got out of the vehicle I was overwhelmed by this powerful smell of gasoline vapours. I walked to the back of this one townhouse and found 120 litres of gasoline stored on a wood deck, and stored directly within the influence of the sun.”

Vezina says there was great concern with the situation as the containers were expanding, bloating and the flow valve on one of the containers was cracked.

“We actually had gasoline spewing into the air in a very fine stream, it was under such pressure, and we've had a couple of incidences where children have started fires, specifically in those deck areas, so the potential for disaster was certainly there.”

Vezina confirmed that Public Works employees were called in to remove the gasoline from the deck and stored in a proper city facility for the weekend. The city will be billing the Nipissing Housing Corporation (NHC) for the call and NHC in turn will bill the tenant.

Vezina says gas is a sinister substance that cannot be trusted, therefore, proper storage and handling should be maintained at all times.

“We reminded homeowners that you are only allowed to store the 30 litres of a class one liquid and gasoline is a class one liquid,” he states.

“It should be stored out of the sun, and in a well ventilated area, and it really should be stored in a secure area.”