Swansea fire department evacuates 52 homes due to strong odor
SWANSEA, Ill., — The Swansea Fire Department, along with police, has evacuated 52 homes in the 1600 block of North 16th Street due to an odor. The first responders were alerted about the odor around 7 p.m. on February 22.
The Swansea Fire Department was notified earlier this evening of a suspicious odor in some of the homes on North 16th St. in the village of Swansea. Upon arrival, they noticed this odor in the homes and also in the sewer system surrounding the neighborhood. A further investigation of the neighborhood ensued based on the initial findings.
Requests were made to Saint Clair County Emergency Management and Saint Clair Special Emergency Services to respond and assist in this investigation. Upon their arrival, some initial testing was done and the fire department found levels that necessitated the evacuation of 52 homes.
“At this time, we’re working with the Illinois EPA and the village of Swansea Sewer Department and the EPA has authorized and recommended that we begin a flush of the sewer system and this impacted area and the fire department is doing that now in conjunction with the Saint Clair Special Services,” said Brian Whittaker from the Swansea Fire Department.
The first responders and the EPA on scene are continuing to investigate exactly what the liquid is.
“The levels that were being read from their detection equipment were displaying information that the liquid could be flammable or potentially explosive,” said Whittaker.
The fire department felt the need to act preemptively, evacuate the residents and go ahead and work with the EPA to mitigate this situation. Currently, they are doing a controlled flush of the sewer system.
“Then they will go back and recheck those homes and the sewers in the area to see if this has mitigated the problem or what steps need to be taken next,” said Whittaker. “But at this time, they believe the appropriate precautions have been taken.”
This is an ongoing investigation, and FOX 2 will provide updates as information becomes available.
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