OMAHA, Neb. — A Peculiar situation in Omaha today on 61st and Taylor. After reports of a strong gasoline smell in the area nearby residents and two daycares full of children were told to evacuate.
"I got a call from my child's daycare saying we needed to pick the kids up," one concerned mother said.
"The fire department came, police came. Everybody came. They said something was either poured down the drain or a gas leak or something or another," BB's Childcare owner Tasha McNeil said.
At first thought to be a natural gas, the Omaha Fire Department has now confirmed that someone in the area did in fact pour gasoline down the drain. That gasoline ended up in the sewer system and affected the entire neighborhood.
"We don't know who would've done that or why they would have done it. It doesn't make any sense to us," McNeil said.
The smell was so strong that Tasha McNeil was feeling lightheaded after being exposed.
"I have a little bit of a headache but right now I'm fine. All the kids are safe and that's the main thing that I was concerned about," she said.
The Omaha Public Works Department was on scene flushing the gasoline out.
"They opened up fire hydrants to try to flush out the drains and everything," McNeil said.
The fire department does not know who did this, and say the area is just too large for them to narrow down to the exact drain that the gasoline was poured into.
The situation is now seemingly under control and the fire department assures that there is no more danger in the area.
"They're hoping that business resumes tomorrow but right now they're not sure," a concerned mother said.
