Police, firefighters, and paramedics from Arlington Heights responded about 8:21 a.m. Friday, January 26, 2024 to a report of a natural gas odor at the NCH Medical Group building, 1051 West Rand Road in Arlington Heights..
The building was evacuated, but no gas odor or gas leak was detected by firefighters. Mount Prospect and Palatine firefighters were on automatic assignment to assist Arlington Heights firefighters at the scene.
There were several gas odor calls in the northwest suburbs, and in some leaks were detected in residential buildings. The winds have been very light with high humidity in the upper 90% range with mist and fog. Low winds allow odors to linger, and high humidity is also associated with chemicals off-gassing from materials.
Also, changes in temperatures can lead to damage pipes or can possibly affect the integrity of connections.
Gas meters include a regulator that controls the flow of gas into homes and commercial buildings. A meter may “burp” small amounts of gas to prevent inflow of natural gas pressure from being too high. Intermittent light gas odor is normal, and a faint smell of gas near the meter is normal. However, a consistent higher gas odor is not normal, and the fire department and/or gas company should be notified.
Gas utility companies add an additive known as mercaptan in their supply system so that gas leaks are detectable with a consistent odor.
An indoor gas leak was also reported on the south side of Arlington Heights at a private residence. Firefighters detected a small leak that was isolated to a furnace, and Nicor was notified.
The information in this article is an early report published before any summary information was confirmed or released by police or fire authorities.
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