Fuel Tanks Leak in the Basement of Mr. Ed’s IGA
Sanborn Township Firefighters responded to a strong smell of fuel coming from Mr. Ed's IGA off E Nicholson Rd. and US-23 in Ossineke.
Ossineke — Sanborn Township Firefighters and the Combat Readiness and Training Center’s Hazmat Response Team responded to strong smells of fuel coming from the basement of Mr. Ed’s IGA in Ossineke on Monday evening. A customer alert staff about the stench in the store. The worker then began to look for the source of smell.
“After the store closed, I was able to go down into the basement and see the problem,” said Mr. Ed’s IGA Attendant Willard Markham.
The problem was puddles of fuel leaking all over the basement. The tanks had been lying dormant in the basement since the structure was constructed.
“These tanks were put in when the building was built about 65 years ago,” said Sanborn Township Fire Chief Dale Hart Jr. “They put them [fuel tanks] in and then they built the building around them so they can’t get the tanks out and they’re full of oil, they don’t drain them off, and they just leave them sitting in the basement, they don’t use them.”
Once the investigation was underway, the multiple teams secured the scene. They cut the power, ventilated the basement, and tested air levels. The Hazmat Response team drained the remaining fuel tanks for safety. A clean up crew from Traverse will arrive on Tuesday to begin cleaning up the basement. It is expected that cleaning will take a day. As of now the scene is a safe.
