Fire crews dispatched for natural gas odor across Harrison; no danger found

Firefighters from multiple departments were dispatched early Tuesday to check on reports of a natural gas odor that wafted along the entire stretch of Freeport Road in Harrison.

“Nobody is in danger,” James Bartolovich, chief of the Harrison Hills Volunteer Fire Company, said.

“All of the levels have been within the normal limits. We’re still trying to figure out where the smell came from.”

Peoples Gas spokesman Barry Kukovich said the company’s crews were at the scene working to determine the source of the widespread odor. The company had also received several reports from customers, he said.

“We had our technicians out there and they walked all the lines,” he said. “We had no leaks.”

Emergency responders from Harrison Hills, Citizens Hose and Hilltop Hose were called to eight locations, including three residences, just after 8:30 a.m.

The initial call came from Kids Kademy daycare at 2859 Freeport Road.

“We obviously were concerned with making sure everyone was safe,” Bartolovich said.

“The smell worked its way down the road but it dissipated minutes after it first appeared.”

In all, responders checked on odor at O’Reilly’s Auto Parts near Walmart, Kids Kademy, Allegheny Opthamology and Allegheny Valley Radiological Imagining both near Saxonburg Road, and the Harrison Hi-Rise. Residences along Pennsylvania Avenue and Adams Street were also inspected.

People reportedly evacuated multiple buildings, according to emergency communications.

Outside the Harrison Hi-Rise, several residents had their own theory as to where the pungent smell originated.

“There was no gas leak,” resident Tim Roskey said. “It came from a dump truck. The truck came down the road and turned on Spring Hill. You could smell it and then five minutes later it was gone.”

Kukovich said that’s likely an accurate guess.

“You can usually tell by the calls, they come down the main road one after the other,” he said. “We get calls like that about three or four times a year.”