Smell was also reported in Ironton

ASHLAND, Ky.— There is still no explanation for the gas smell on Monday that was reported all the way from Ashland, Kentucky to Greenup, Kentucky and even across the river in Ironton.

Reports came into the Ashland Fire Department on Monday afternoon and the firefighters spent the afternoon checking buildings.

As of 5 p.m., the department said they had checked more than 30 structures, with no readings of natural gas found in them. Columbia Gas crews assisted the department in investigating calls at Ashland Town Center, Walmart and several other businesses were affected by this. All buildings have been cleared and occupants were permitted to re-enter them.

The Ashland Fire Department said they found no readings of natural gas were found at any of the locations and that it could have been a release of Mercaptan, which is the odorant used with natural gas to detect the presence of the gas.

On Tuesday morning, Ashland Fire Department Chief Steve Alley said they had made calls to various transports companies and none reported leaks of chemicals or gas.

“What we suspect is that it was just a transport vehicle coming through the area,” he said. “We did check with river traffic and rail traffic and they didn’t have anything they knew of passing through. So we think it may have been a transport tanker that had a release of some sort.”

 

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Smell also reported in Ironton

ASHLAND, KENTUCKY— The Ashland Fire Department said all buildings have been cleared after reports of a natural gas odor in a wide area of town on Monday afternoon.

At around 3:20 p.m., the fire department said they started to receive notification on the smell of natural gas inside of buildings in downtown Ashland.

As of 5 p.m., the department said they had checked more than 30 structures, with no readings of natural gas found in them. Columbia Gas crews assisted the department in investigating calls. Occupants were advised to evacuate, as a precaution, whenever calls were received reporting a natural gas leak. The Ashland Town Center, Walmart and several other businesses were affected by this. All buildings have been cleared and occupants were permitted to re-enter them.

The odor could also be smelled in downtown Ironton on Monday. Russell, Ironton and other Greenup County fire departments have been responding to similar calls.

The Ashland Fire Department said, at this time, no source has been identified that caused the odor. No readings of natural gas were found at any of the locations. This could have been a release of Mercaptan, which is the odorant used with natural gas to detect the presence of the gas. This could have occurred through roadway transport of that material through the area, they said.

The department said reports of a gas leak at 18th Street and Winchester Avenue were proven false and that there was routine maintenance occurring there on a gas line that was in no way connected to the incident.

“Downtown Ashland is still SAFE and no one should be concerned at this time,” the department posted on Facebook. “If you do have an odor of Natural Gas CURRENTLY present in your home or building, please contact 911.”