People in several cities on the northern side of the Dallas-Fort Worth area are reporting a strong odor associated with natural gas today. The calls began coming in last night from towns in Denton County and Tarrant County.
People in Coppell, Southlake, Keller, Flower Mound, and other communities began calling 911 to report the odor, which is usually associated with a natural gas leak. Officials with Atmos Energy say they have not detected any leaks.
Natural gas is colorless and odorless, so the company adds a chemical called mercaptan to give it that distinctive smell as a safety measure. A statement from the company says the smell being detected across north Texas today means they added too much of that chemical to their system.
"We believe the source of the odor is excess mercaptan," the company said. "We are investigating every odor call received since last night and will continue to do so as part of our vision to be the safest provider of natural gas services."
Dallas, Richardson, and Plano are all experiencing a surge in calls to 911 about the odor today.
Dallas Fire-Rescue has responded to more than 190 calls.
Dallas Fire-Rescue crews will make some adjustments to their procedures today and tomorrow because of the problem. People who call to report the smell outside will be notified about the situation with the excess mercaptan. For callers who report the smell inside, DFR and Atmos will send crews to the location to investigate.
Atmos predicts the excess supply of the chemical will take about 24 hours to move through their system.
Anyone who suspects a natural gas leak should leave the area immediately and call 911 and Atmos Energy’s 24-hour emergency line at 866-322-8667.
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