Residents of the Pater Arnold Damenstraat in Etten-Leur have recently been bothered by a huge stench. It is a pungent, diesel-like smell. It happened three times already. The fire brigade and police were called in again on Monday evening, only to return later in the evening. The strange smell not only keeps the emergency services busy, the residents are also not happy. “I’m not comfortable with it. It keeps me awake,” says resident Kees Geerts.
The strange smell was first smelled about two weeks ago. On Monday evening the smell resurfaced in the street around seven o’clock. In Kees Geerts’ house there was also a pungent odor in the toilet and in the crawl space. “It stinks in the hallway, the crawl space and in the toilet. We opened the window to get the stench out of the house,” says Kees.
The fire brigade arrived at Father Arnold Damenstraat for the first time around seven o’clock. “They examined crawl spaces. The wells in the street were also checked. The air was gone for a while, but came back later in the evening. That was quite intense,” says Geerts, who is not reassured. “I’ve been afraid to go to sleep lately.”
“Maybe a drug dump?”
According to Kees, the fire brigade ventilated the crawl space and the house with a fan on Monday evening. The house of one of the neighbors was also taken care of by the fire brigade. In the street, the fire brigade flushed the sewer with several thousand liters of water. “The fire brigade also noticed the smell and took a sample. It is still unclear what substance it is. Maybe a drug dumping? The police are not saying anything about that.”
Roos van Osta lives a little further down the street. “I have smelled the petrol-like odor in the street. It is difficult to place where the stench is coming today. Fortunately, we are not bothered by stench in our house. The only thing we notice is that the fire brigade and police come into the street more often. “The sewer was flushed on Monday evening. I hope it is now over for the people who suffer from the stench. That is nice for everyone.”
“Strange odors were also smelled then.”
“Diesel or gasoline? In any case, it was a heavy smell,” says resident Monique Muijs. “About a year and a half ago, the street was overhauled and redesigned. Strange odors were also smelled then. I don’t know whether it has really been resolved now.”
The fire brigade has already been called to Pater Arnold Damenstraat several times due to reports of odor nuisance. Firefighters also observed this on Monday. Nothing has yet emerged from the measurements.
