The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) says the source of an unusual odour in a Middle Sackville, N.S., neighbourhood has been found and residents in the area can return home. Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency’s Hazardous Materials team and RCMP members responded to reports of a “chemical smell” in the Claudia Crescent, Lucy Court and Flora Court area around 8:30 p.m. Thursday. The smell was coming from within certain homes and the sewer system. About 70 households were affected and residents self-evacuated as needed. Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency (HRFE) confirmed to CTV News the cause of the odor and substance in sewer system was gasoline, although they couldn’t confirm how much fuel made its way into the wastewater system or how exactly it got there. “We don’t have any way of testing for the volume of it but with hydro-carbons it does not take a lot to create the smell and travel through the system,” says HRFE district chief Robb Hebb. The evacuation of the homes in the neighbourhood was done out of an abundance of caution, Hebb says, given the circumstances and the potential fire risk. “The evacuation was initially done out of an abundance of caution, just due to the smell and the number of homes impacted,” says Hebb. “We felt like we were dealing with a flammable chemical and just wanted to make sure that people were safe until we could pinpoint exactly what it was and where it was.” More than a dozen residents used an evacuation centre at the Sackville Sports Stadium in Lower Sackville overnight. Crews were able to isolate the source of the smell to a catch basin at the corner of Claudia Crescent and Flora Court. The municipality says it was a petroleum-based substance. Halifax Water flushed additional water through the sewer system to isolate the substance and then vacuumed it out. The situation was resolved around 3 a.m. Friday. Residents are returning home and the evacuation centre is closing. The municipality is reminding residents and businesses that hazardous materials, including petroleum-based substances, should never be dumped into the wastewater system. “Improper disposal of these substances can create public safety risks, impact the environment and disrupt municipal infrastructure. Residents should always use approved hazardous waste disposal services for these materials,” reads a news release from HRM. With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Jesse Thomas For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
