By then the odor had drifted west: reports started to come in from residents in the area of Wells Road south of Highway 126 that a strange odor much like gas was smelled in the area.Southern California Gas Co. personnel had been summoned to scene at the request of customer complaints and the VCFD; although gas company personnel on scene was able to smell the odor, nothing registered on their gas detection monitors.Wells said the odor at the Little Red School House dissipated by 9:30 a.m.The Ventura County Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team was not dispatched: “Haz-mat is usually only called out when the source of the odor is discovered or if the odor doesn’t go away,” noted Wells.Southern California Gas Co. spokeswoman Denise King said the source of the odor was “not natural gas. . .personnel on scene thought perhaps it resembled a petroleum odor but had no idea of where it was coming from.”Gas company detection equipment only tests for natural gas, she noted.
Strong odor prompts emergency response
December 14, 2001
Santa Paula News
Ventura County Fire Department and Southern California Gas Co. investigators were unable to identify the source of a strong, mysterious odor that permeated the Santa Clara River Valley along Highway 126 from Toland to Wells roads on Thursday morning.
Descriptions of the odor by those who encountered said it ranged from sewage-like to rotten onions to petroleum.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesVentura County Fire Department and Southern California Gas Co. investigators were unable to identify the source of a strong, mysterious odor that permeated the Santa Clara River Valley along Highway 126 from Toland to Wells roads on Thursday morning.Descriptions of the odor by those who encountered said it ranged from sewage-like to rotten onions to petroleum.Calls started to come into the Santa Paula Fire Department at about 9:20 a.m. on Dec. 13, according to Captain Dan Campos.“We were dispatched first to the area of Oak and Santa Clara streets and then to Hallock Drive and then on to Toland Road,” outside city limits, said Cpt. Campos.The Ventura County Fire Department had also been dispatched to an area between the Santa Clara School a.k.a. The Little Red School House, and Yamaguchi Flowers, on the south side of Highway 126. Santa Clara School sits at the intersection of Toland Road.According to VCFD Public Information Officer Sandi Wells, the call of an unknown odor was reported at 9:08 a.m.The SPFD and VCFD met up at Toland Road, where the SPFD was released from the incident at about 9:45 a.m.
