On December 19, 2018, the Gorham Fire Department received urgent phone calls from concerned citizens reporting a strong gas smell in the areas covering Route 25 and Route 112, down into the Village, South Street, Fort Hill Road and the Main Street area. Responding to at least twenty calls within a 24-hour period, the Fire Department investigated homes, businesses, pump stations and propane facilities in Gorham, but could not identify the cause of the smell.
According to Fire Chief Robert Lefebvre, “it was frustrating not being able to pinpoint the issue. Maine Natural Gas was monitoring the area, our department was responding to calls trying to identify potential gas leaks, but all of our testing came back normal.”
After a thorough investigation, the smell was attributed to manure that had been previously spread on Route 25. The fluctuating weather patterns, freezing and then thawing, was thought to have aggravated the odor and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection was called.
However, the smell continued to persist. After tips were received from residents in the Cressey Road area, the gaseous odor was deemed to be emanating from the quarry at Brandy Brook.
“The smell was continuing to be a legitimate concern. After we ruled out a potential gas leak, we knew that it was nothing dangerous, but the strong smell was making residents feel sick in the immediate area,” according to Chief Lefebvre.
Brandy Brook Quarry, operated by R.J. Grondin and Sons, is located at 7 Ossipee Trail in Gorham. Larry Grondin, Vice President, attributed the smell to an error and miscommunication amongst his staff.
“We use a fertilizer to add nutrients to our topsoil. When we receive the fertilizer, it needs to be used immediately or mixed with topsoil. Unfortunately, in this instance, there was a miscommunication and the fertilizer was not mixed as soon as we received it. The following two days it rained, which caused the fertilizer to ‘cook,’ omitting a pungent odor.”
According to Grondin, as soon as the company realized the error, they immediately mixed the fertilizer and called the town to notify them of the mistake. “We realized what had occurred on a Friday evening. We made sure to have employees’ onsite all day Saturday to correct the issue. We try to be good neighbors and could not be sorrier for the smell. We feel absolutely terrible about the mistake.”
R.J. Grondin and Sons worked with the Gorham Code Enforcement Officer, the Fire Department, and Maine Department of Environmental Protection to ensure that the appro- priate steps were taken to correct the error and that no violations were committed.
“We are permitted to use this fertilizer and do so fairly frequently without concern. However, this time, an unfortunate mistake caused by a break in communication caused an irritating smell which affected our neighbors and caused a lot of unnecessary alarm. We are sorry for the time we took away from the Fire Department and town officials and any discomfort and concern caused by the smell to the residents of Gorham.”
The odor has now subsided and the mystery has been solved. R.J. Grondin and Sons has made a plan to ensure that the same error won’t happen twice. Most importantly, Gorham residents did the right thing by calling the Fire Department. As Chief Lefebvre reiterated, “Never hesitate to call when you have a concern.”