There was the usual rise in Vandalism that came with the summer visitors but most of the small businesses around the Post Office end of the the Budgewoi shopping strip on Scenic Drive thought the overpowering smell of petrol was a particularly nasty attempt to set some of them on fire. It was the middle of January 2011.
The first thing that warned of the seriousness of the event was the NSW Fire Brigade, Hazardous Material truck parked in Republic Lane
The first day after noticing it most people were prepared to accept the idea of vandalism but the day after that there were petroleum fumes issuing forth from several of the street drains and anecdotes were being passed around that suggested there might be some danger of being blown up if one lit a cigarette near the sink or by the street gutters.
A day later again and there were strong fumes in houses some distance from the gas station and the main street nearby was actually showing visible fumes spewing up from the drains.
Council, Fire Brigade and hazmat teams all trying to find the culprit
For the locals it would have been no surprise to find the emergency vehicles buzzing about the place. The possibility now existed that an open flame at one end of town could do damage and maybe blow people up right through the village by the shopping strip. For most of the day the street was partially open because no-one had understood the size of the problem but by the afternoon the Fire Brigade and Hazardous Materials Response Unit had closed off the entire street.
Republic Lane Budgewoi and much head scratching as the hunt for the cause continues
Suddenly the fumes that had been believed to be left after an attack from vandals had become a leak in one of the tanks in the ground at the ‘United’ service station. There may have been thousands of litres of gasoline sloshing about in the drains waiting for a spark to bring the place down! The locals were treading very carefully indeed. Most people made light of it and joked a bit but the fumes escaping from the sinks of their houses made it inescapably obvious that the possibility of a major disaster was real.
For the next day or so the entire main street was closed off but the worst of the leak had been dealt with and the problem was dissipating all the time. The ‘United’ service station was closed after that as all sorts of measures and safety checks were carried out. Everyone was delighted when they opened some time later, The United service station is one of those independent businesses people in towns like Budgewoi are proud to support and many were worried that the place would close forever.
Guarding the gas station and keeping everyone away until the leak was finally cleared
I do not know which measures were taken to get the place opened to the public again but if you ask the staff you may be pointed to the ‘E 10’ pump which has not been used since that day a year ago. One thing that also came as a big relief was the understanding that whatever caused the leak it was not human error or negligence. I have covered this event before but as this blog is about Budgewoi in particular I thought it should be included. I have tried to make it clear that to the best of my knowledge the whole event was one of those things that happens without needing a human error to set it off. That is how I understand it to have been. Nobody was hurt and all the responders did a great job!
Fortunate for us all that the supermarket was away from the leak as it was almost the only thing still trading
anecdotes were being passed around that suggested there might be some danger of being blown up if one lit a cigarette near the sink or by the street gutters.
It was a very real fear. There had been chemicals leaking into that system for many months at least. I used to cover the bathroom waste drain with a wet towel to try and stop the fumes. Once the tank burst it was a possibility a spark could cause it to explode or so we thought