The High Ridge Fire Protection District found no signs of a gas leak in the Sugar Creek subdivision early Sunday morning, Feb. 1, after several residents said they could smell natural gas.
Chief John Barton said High Ridge Fire was called to the 2200 block of Fairway Drive at 1 a.m. to check the area for any leaks.
“We wound up having three different residents wake up to the odor of natural gas in their homes,” Barton said. “We never found anything with our equipment, and Spire was already on the scene at a fourth house investigating a potential gas leak.”
High Ridge Fire checked the houses with a five-gas detector that is equipped on all the district’s trucks to detect explosive gases, Barton said. No leaks were found, and Barton said the residents were able to return to their homes.
He said it’s possible that the fourth home, where Spire was checking for a natural gas leak, may have been the source of the odor for the other residents. However, he said that the house was far down the street from the other houses, and there wasn’t much wind blowing at the time.
“With it being 5 degrees, it’s not like people had their windows open where (the natural gas odor) could easily get into their homes,” Barton said. “Spire has detectors that are even more sensitive (than High Ridge Fire’s), that are designed specifically for natural gas. But they didn’t find anything on their equipment either, according to the person on-site.”
Barton said High Ridge Fire left the scene by 1:37 a.m.