Odor Sends Rash of Calls to Emergency Personnel

A sulphur odor in the city this morning sent a wave of calls to the Manhattan Beach Fire Department and the 9-1-1 dispatch center, said Battalion Chief Ken Shuck.

A fire engine sent to locate the odor did not find a source for it within the city, he said. The Chevron El Segundo Refinery reportedly was not a source either.

With a southeast wind blowing per a phone call to Hawthorne Airport, Shuck said the odor could have come from an unplanned flare-up event at the Torrance Exxon Mobil Refinery near the 405 freeway near Crenshaw Blvd. 

He called smells such as this one "usually transient odors that blow through the city."

The spokesperson for the South Coast Air Quality Management District was not available, however, the agency had been informed of the unplanned flare-up.

Shuck said the department experienced a "rash" of calls, 15 to 20, and "a whole bunch more" went through the 9-1-1 dispatch center. The Manhattan Beach Unified School District called the fire department for information on the odor, as well.

When called by MBFD early in the onslaught of calls, Chevron sent units out on their property and "as far as they could tell, nothing was coming" from their site, he said, adding that Chevron is "one of the first people we call since they're neighbors" anytime an odor call comes in.

Shuck noted that there is an area of "offshore seepage" that sometimes produces an odor citizens will call about. MBFD can usually determine is that is a possibility by "determining which way the wind is blowing." 

A dispatch radio transmission said winds could take the odor toward Redondo Beach and that what was in the air was methane gas, which could be an irritant but was nontoxic.

The Redondo Beach Fire Department responded to an odor call in the 1600 block of Herrin Ave., near Artesia Blvd. Students at Mira Costa High School smelled the odor as well.

The Torrance Exxon Mobil Refinery is at 3700 W. 190th St.; 310-212-2800.

Update from Torrance Police Department press release: "The power outage [that caused the unplanned flare-up at the refinery this morning] caused no leaks and the area air was tested and determined clear and safe."