THOMASTON – “We always need to check these things out,” said Thomaston Fire Chief Mikial Mazzeo. “Because it’s so devastating if gas is found to be present.”

Thomaston Fire Department didn’t find a cause for the reports of propane odors Monday evening, Jan. 31, that led to an evacuation of Walmart. The FD was, however, able to narrow its search to two probable sources before further eliminating one of those probabilities.

Firefighters knew of only two places the odor could have originated from: a heating system unit on the roof, and a grill tank exchange system on the ground. Initially, Mazzeo and his crew couldn’t rule out either one, according to Mazzeo. But then, a fact of science kicked in: propane smells sink.

Since the smell was being detected on the roof, the grill tank exchange system on the ground couldn’t be the source, because propane smells can’t rise from the ground to the top of a two-story building.

With that in mind, firefighters suspected that the rooftop unit either had a leak or wasn’t functioning properly.

For an hour or so prior to the emergency call that brought Thomaston, Rockland and South Thomaston to the scene, odors had been noticed at Walmart intermittently for an hour or so. It was when someone remarked about smelling the gas inside the store that store officials reached for the phone.

Upon arrival, the first thing TFD did was shut off the heating tanks outside. The second order of business was to call the propane service technicians whom Walmart contracts with.

As some personnel continued searching the exterior, others carried detectors throughout the inside. Those meter devices are capable of picking up the lowest amount of traceable fuels through the detection of hydro carbon fuels or that added element to propane that creates the rotten-egg stench: methyl mercaptan.

The meters found nothing. There was no trace of ignitable gas, on any level, inside inside or outside of the building, according to Mazzeo.

Once Mazzeo and the rest of the firefighters determined the area to be safe, the building was turned back over to the store and the propane service technician.

Video credit to CoolFireTrucks Guy

THOMASTON — Walmart in Thomaston was evacuated Monday evening for about 90 minutes following reports of a strong odor of propane outside of the building that was beginning to drift into the store. 

At approximately 6 p.m., January 31, 2022, firefighters were alerted to the odor at 55 Thomaston Commons Way. Crews searched the exterior of the building, the property, and the retail store across the street for signs of propane. The smell was eventually detected outside using the various meter detection devices brought by Thomaston Fire Department. As some personnel disconnected the propane lines attached to Walmart, others searched the interior for further signs of fumes. The gas company that contracted with Walmart assisted with the incident.

Rockland and South Thomaston firefighters also assisted.

At approximately 7:20 p.m., Thomaston Commons Way reopened to traffic. Shortly after, all remaining fire units returned to their stations.