Strage odor coming from crawl space (Jersey City: house, neighborhood, live in)

[crortega9]

Very strong chemical odor coming from (i think) my crawl space. Started sometime yesterday. Smells sorta like lighter fluid to me. It's not gas. Any recommendations on someone who could take a look at this and give me a free estimate? I'm in Jersey City. I called a company I found online and they don't be able to come until Nov. 13th. I need this taken care off ASAP. Thank you.

[Retriever]

If you suspect that the fumes could be flammable, I would suggest phoning the local fire department, and asking them to come to your house and use their sniffer. Trust me--they would much prefer to prevent a possible fire than to have to fight one.If they can rule out anything flammable, the firemen may even be able to recommend what you should do as the next step.

[Goldendoodle1969]

Originally Posted by crortega9

Very strong chemical odor coming from (i think) my crawl space. Started sometime yesterday. Smells sorta like lighter fluid to me. It's not gas. Any recommendations on someone who could take a look at this and give me a free estimate? I'm in Jersey City. I called a company I found online and they don't be able to come until Nov. 13th. I need this taken care off ASAP. Thank you.

I would still call PSEG and have them come out. Tell them it "could" be gas. They will have someone out within a few hours and make sure that it isn't. Also they may be able to determine what it is and it's free( actually not free but part of a service you already pay for).

PS I would suspect it is a dead animal or, depending on the part of Jersey City you are in, possibly a human.

[CaptainNJ]

did you forget where you put the body?

[crortega9]

Haha it's not a human... Or an animal. It's not the kind of foul smell of death. Just chemicals.

[sj08054]

Originally Posted by crortega9

Haha it's not a human... Or an animal. It's not the kind of foul smell of death. Just chemicals.

If it's chemical smell, definitely call gas company.What's above the crawspace? Any room where you store chemicals such as stain?

[crortega9]

I live in an old Victorian so my first level directly above the crawl space is my kitchen and dining room. There's also a space under the stairs I use for storage but I don't keep any chemicals there. Access to the crawl space is also there under the stairs. We've always had funky odors that come and go from down there, quirks if owning an old house, but this is bad and very chemical. Other odors have been a little more foul, fungus perhaps.

[crortega9]

Fire department just came by. Appears to be something with the sewer throughout the neighborhood. They're going door to door trying to find the source.