Several Tempe and Phoenix neighbors reported smelling a strong odor of natural gas outside their homes on July 6, but local authorities said they did not detect a gas leak.
Around 9 p.m., Beth Dietz walked out her front door — in a neighborhood between Mill Avenue and Rural Road, and Broadway Road and Southern Avenue in Tempe — and smelled an overwhelming odor of gas. She was not sure what the source of the smell was as the gas line to her home had been cut years prior.
She then noticed several of her neighbors outside of their houses, and they too had smelled the gas.
“I started feeling nauseous, and then, like I said, these other neighbors were saying they were feeling the same thing, and the smell was super strong,” Dietz said. “It would be like if you were in a building and there was a major leak in your building, but we were outside.”
Dietz said that she called Southwest Gas and that representatives told her they had received over 100 calls from Tempe and Phoenix concerning the odor.
A short while later, a Southwest Gas truck arrived, and several neighbors inquired about a potential gas leak.
Michael Monti lives in the same neighborhood as Dietz. He said he noticed the odor after his two teenagers independently asked if he smelled gas.
He went to check his gas stove when he noticed a Southwest Gas truck outside of his neighbor’s house.
“I said, ‘Do you guys have a leak over there?’” Monti said. “And the Southwest Gas guy gave a kind of an agitated answer because he was putting out traffic cones and such, but he made reference to a leak from a truck over in Phoenix that was spreading the odor.”
Monti was not the only person who said Southwest Gas claimed the odor was emanating from elsewhere. Dietz also said she was given a similar story.
Liz Boettcher, who lives in the same neighborhood, said she was also given a similar story.
“He [the driver] said something about it’s from like an accident or leak on the 60, and it’s moving eastward,” Boettcher said.
The Arizona Department of Transportation said there was a disabled vehicle on the shoulder of U.S. 60 near the Broadway Curve at about 8:45 p.m. on July 6, but did not have additional information.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety confirmed there was a disabled vehicle on U.S. 60 at that time but said it was not leaking fuel and was not a gas truck.
In a statement, Southwest Gas said it responded to odor calls in Phoenix and Tempe on the night of July 6, but found its system “operating safely.”
Southwest Gas later attributed the odor to an unspecified third party, and referred questions from KJZZ — including how many calls the utility received and whether representatives blamed the odor on a disabled vehicle — to the Phoenix Fire Department.
The Phoenix Fire Department received two calls about the odor.
Around 7:30 p.m., the Phoenix and Tempe Fire Departments responded to the 4400 block of South 21st Street in Phoenix for reports of a natural-gas odor. Crews did not smell gas, and their equipment had zero natural-gas readings.
Around 9:50 p.m., Phoenix fire crews responded to an apartment complex in the 4200 block of South 47th Place for reports of a natural-gas odor but did not smell natural gas.
According to the Phoenix Fire Department, crews checked the entire complex “inside and out” and returned zero natural-gas readings. A crew remained on scene while Southwest Gas responded and confirmed there was no gas leak.
The Tempe Fire Department said it received five calls about the odor. Fire crews responded but found no emergency and handed the scene over to Southwest Gas. Tempe fire said there was no broader public danger.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality said it received no reports about the incident. But neighbors are still looking for answers as to what occurred that evening.
“I want to know what happened, because that was a lot of gas,” Dietz said. “And I think we need answers, like, ‘What happened?’ Because I think it was dangerous.”
Dietz, like her neighbors, said she felt sick from the odor.
“I was not feeling well all night … I felt like throwing up all night,” Dietz said.
