Mysterious gas odor reported in Millersburg goes unexplained

What happens when someone detects an undefined odor of gas in Holmes County?

That question was answered recently when a strange, unidentified gas odor was detected in Millersburg on Monday, Sept. 8.

Several phone calls were made when citizens recognized a unique gas odor emanating near the southern portion of Millersburg. The callers notified Holmes Fire District #1 and the Millersburg Police Department, which were both the first to respond to the situation at approximately 7 p.m.

Soon thereafter officials quickly notified staff at Northeast Ohio Gas Company, and Jason Troyer, Holmes County Emergency Management Agency director, was notified at 7:39 p.m.

“As I came through Millersburg, I could smell natural gas at the square and then again in the area of the water treatment plant,” Troyer said. “We were first directed to Taco Bell, but I could actually smell natural gas at our office in downtown Millersburg. We started driving around to try to calculate exactly where it was the most intense, and eventually, we came back to the water treatment plant, where the odor seemed to be the heaviest.”

Because the source of the gas smell was not identified, Troyer said the staffs at Taco Bell, Wendy's and Jitters all evacuated the buildings, something he said was the proper thing to do when someone is unsure of where the smell is coming from.

“These types of situations where it is an unknown source can be very dangerous, so evacuating the premises of those businesses was a good thing to do,” Troyer said.

Troyer said all involved agencies drove around the village and were unable to locate the source of the smell, although he did say the natural gas aroma could be identified as far north as Pomerene Hospital.

Northeast Ohio Gas Company officials responded to the scene quickly, and after investigating the issue, they said nothing was found.

“All of their equipment was in working order with no leaks noted,” Troyer said.

After a lengthy time exploring all possibilities, all the entities involved decided to close as they were unable to locate the origin of the smell in the village, and it had dissipated to the point where they were no longer able to detect the smell.

Troyer said at around 10 p.m. all units went back in service.

“We never were able to find the source of it, and it eventually went away and no longer existed,” Troyer said. “At this point we have no idea what caused it.”

He said officials from Northeast Ohio Gas said a truck passing through the area could have leaked the natural gas.

"I thought everyone did a great job of doing exactly what protocol dictates,” Troyer said. "We simply weren’t able to identify any source, and it eventually dissipated.”

It proved to be an unsolved mystery, something Troyer said was exasperating to all involved.

Commissioner Dave Hall contacted Troyer about the situation and said a similar circumstance occurred prior to this event in Killbuck, but in that case, it had to do with the wetlands.

In that case Ohio Department of Natural Resources said the swampland and the drought may have caused the low-lying areas to release some natural gas that had not come out until the swamp area dried and the level of water became low enough to release the gas.

“That was probably back around 1999,” Hall said. “We were told that in times of drought, the water sinks and puts pressure on the ground and methane escapes. It can create a very similar smell as natural gas.”

While Hall said the scenario isn’t for certain, the swampland situation near the water plant in Millersburg is very similar in circumstances.

“That methane starts to build up in layers and starts to bubble and becomes so pressurized it needs to escape somewhere at some point in a natural release,” Hall said. “This really mirrors what happened 26 years ago in Killbuck. We thought then we had a major breakage in a line, but it turned out to be swamp gas. Nothing you can do about it because it’s just nature doing its thing.”

Troyer said the following days they kept a close eye — or nose — on the situation, but nothing else arose.

Troyer said when someone smells a unique gas odor, they should immediately call 9-1-1 or the local fire and EMS department and report the case. He said it is far better to be safe than sorry in these types of cases.

“We’d rather someone report it and it not be anything rather than simply hoping it goes away,” Troyer said.

In this case Troyer said everyone involved did exactly what was necessary and proper, from the initial call through the evacuation process and summoning experts who explored the situation.