Tavistock school evacuated due to odour

By Lee Griffi

East Zorra-Tavistock (EZT) fire crews were called to Tavistock Public School on Tuesday morning after receiving a report of a possible natural gas leak.

Students and staff were evacuated while testing was conducted at the school by firefighters and Enbridge Gas. The result was negative for natural gas, leaving the cause of the smell unknown.

“I can confirm that Enbridge Gas received a number of calls from the Tavistock area earlier (Tuesday) morning about the suspected smell of natural gas,” said company spokesperson Lesley Hunter. “Our crews responded immediately, and their investigation determined that the odour was not related to natural gas.”

EZT Fire Chief Scott Alexander said his department was called to the school at approximately 9:25 a.m. (Tuesday) morning.

“The department searched and found no readings at that time. Enbridge was requested to attend, and at approximately 10:20 a.m., performed an investigation. They also did not detect any readings. Fire was released from the scene, and Enbridge is continuing to investigate.”

A notification was delivered to parents through the school’s messaging system at 10:29 a.m.

“Earlier this morning, the fire department and utilities services were called to respond to reports of a potential gas leak at Tavistock Public School. Students and staff have been temporarily evacuated to the neighbouring Tavistock and District Recreation Centre. The fire department and utilities services are currently investigating to determine if it is safe for students to re-enter the building. We will provide updates to families once more information is available. As always, the safety and wellbeing of Tavistock students remain our highest priority.”

While the email said the students were at the arena, they were actually taken to the Memorial Hall. Parents received an update at 11 a.m. that their kids were safely back in class.

A mother with children enrolled at the school, who lives several blocks away on Fred Krug Avenue, said she smelled a strong odour from her home.

“It hit me like a wall as I stepped onto the porch. I started a group chat with my neighbours to check their gas lines. Moms who live by Tim Hortons were calling their husbands. One that lives on Jacob Street called Enbridge right away, and their reader wouldn’t pick anything up. What could smell that strong all through town, and are we going to get an explanation? Pretty unnerving.”

An odour was also present at other locations in Tavistock, including Jacob Street. One possible explanation is an issue at the sewage lagoons, which are located close to the school, but Oxford County said that was not the case.

“No abnormal odours have been detected by wastewater treatment operations staff onsite at the Tavistock waste water treatment plant,” said Jason Kreitzer, supervisor of wastewater operations.

He also noted that dissolved oxygen concentrations in the treatment lagoons are well above minimum requirements, meaning the lagoons are healthy and not overloaded. 

County staff also noted odours may be originating from other industrial operations in the area. They also said the wind was blowing from the northeast, away from the school.

The Gazette also reached out to Mike Harris, MPP for Kitchener-Conestoga and minister of environment, conservation and parks.

“I am going to flag the issue for my team, and we will look into it.”

The Gazette reached out to EZT to see what steps, if any, they are taking to investigate the odour.

“It would appear that it was a false alarm. The township fire department responds to many false alarms throughout the year and does not do any additional investigation after the area is cleared and deemed safe,” said EZT CAO Karen DePrest. “There are plenty of other possible sources of the smell, but where or how to track them down is beyond the scope of our team.”