Is this illegal? (Not a sex thread!)

[MorningGlow]

It's actually an annoying-neighbor thread. :P Inspired by LynneSin's dog-poop thread, BTW.

My crazy-ass nextdoor neighbor is quite the piece of work--I've posted about him and his three devil spawn before. Lately we've established a "pretending each other doesn't exist" kind of truce, but alas, his situation is infringing on mine once again.

This time it's his car. He has two, actually, both with serious issues. Honestly, I don't care how beat up anyone's car is--I drive a 10-year-old rusted-out Jeep with a holey muffler and a hiccuping transmission myself--but one of his cars has become an environmental hazard.

I don't know which one it is, but one of them has a gas leak. Apparently it's still drivable, because he does drive them both, but when it's parked in his driveway, the stench of gasoline is unbearable. It started in the winter and the smell seeped through all my closed windows. At first I didn't recognize the smell as gasoline, so I called the (natural) gas company to check my house, as I really thought it was being generated from inside my place. The guy checked my stove, furnace, and outside hookup. Nothing was wrong.

Found out why--once spring arrived and I opened the windows, I realized it was actually gasoline and not natural gas I was smelling. His driveway is opposite my kitchen window (perpendicular--his driveway faces the sidestreet--we're on a corner) and when that car is there, I can't open any windows on that side of the house.

So--is that illegal? Is it truly an environmental hazard? I can't talk to him about it (our war would start up again), but I sure can blow him in to authorities (anonymously of course). If it is illegal, who do I call about it? The fire department? police? town? village? I have no idea. Anybody know?

On edit: No need to tempt me with talk of wayward lit matches. I daydream about it...
:rofl:

[MorningGlow]

1. Kickety for the morning crew n/t

[nuxvomica]

2. It may not be leak. It could just be the engine is always flooded.

And that is the extent of my knowledge of motor vehicles. I'm surprised he and his spawn don't smell it. Or maybe they think it's your jeep. He may be posting a similar thread on CrazyAssNeighborUnderground.com right now.
:hi:

[MorningGlow]

3. Lulz

Doubt it--the dude's brain is fried (waaaaaayyyy too many questionable drugs, in questionable combinations, over the years). I'm sure he and the spawn smell it (if his nose still works) but they ignore it.

Good point about it might not be an actual leak. I should make sure before I call somebody. Hmmm going back to that lit match notion again... :evilgrin:

[nuxvomica]

5. Seriously, though, I'd call the fire dept

Let them determine the source. It's not on you to point fingers at the neighbor. The fire inspector will do that for you. And you've done due diligence by calling the gas company first.

[SwampG8r]

7. i amswered downthread but when i saw this a light

went on in my head

are you SURE you smell gasoline?not some other chemical?
he may have a lab in his house
if this is true you have a much bigger problem

[MorningGlow]

9. Yes, it is gasoline

Although Mr. MG is convinced he does have a meth lab in the house! But I don't believe he has the wherewithal to produce even one batch of the stuff.

I'm sure it's definitely gasoline because I only catch the smell when both cars are in the driveway. I'm pretty sure which one is the culprit--an Oldsmobile, which shames me, because my uncle was an Oldsmobile dealer for 40 years. ;)

[lost-in-nj]

4. it is a hazard

and when there is a gasoline leak around here the fire dept gets called out and they put speedy dry on it so it gets soaked up and doesn't leech into the ground.....

I hope no one walks by and throws a cigarette...


and the smell IS horrible...


lost

[MorningGlow]

10. Thanks, Lost

Fire department it is, then. Even if it's not a gusher, I was thinking that it was an environmental hazard (polluting the ground, as he doesn't have a paved driveway) along with a fire hazard, but I'll appeal to their sense of safety.

[SwampG8r]

6. call the fire department

one tablespoon of gasoline in a vapor form has the explosive power of a stick of dynamite
this is a huge and dangerous hazard
the fire department is the best people to deal with it
just call and say you smell a strong odor of gasoline and cannot find the source
they will be there in minutes
he has most likely lost a diaphram in an old school fuel pump
he is the one in the most danger as he could literally burst into flames anytime he is driving

[MorningGlow]

11. Oh Christ that makes me feel so safe

:scared:

I am going to play dumb about the source, so my crazy-ass neighbor doesn't come after me with a baseball bat if he thinks I blew him in specifically. We have a gas station down the street on the corner, so technically it MIGHT not be him, but as I said upthread, it only smells when both his cars are in the driveway, and has only smelled for the last six months. The gas station has been there for years upon years. Plus I don't get the smell when I'm in my front yard, which is closer to the gas station (his driveway is toward the back of my house). All fingers point to a leaky car of his...but I'll let the fire department do the deducing.

[meow2u3]

8. Speak to the neighbor and inform him that there's a problem with his truck

I'll bet any amount that your neighbor is frustrated with his fuel economy. Appeal to his wallet to get him to fix the fuel leak from his Jeep. Environmental arguments will fall on deaf ears, especially with crazies like him.

I'd let him know that a gasoline leak also poses a fire hazard--for his Jeep! If he doesn't have comprehensive insurance for his truck, he'll be SOL if the gas leak ends up blowing up his truck and/or injuring him if he keeps driving it.

[MorningGlow]

12. I wish I could

but I can't, unfortunately. We have had many, many run-ins with him about a variety of issues, and I know from experience that trying to talk sense to him is useless. I'd get a more intelligent response from a rotting log.

(BTW, the old Jeep is mine. Which does not have a gas leak! It might have other issues, but that isn't one of them! :) I'm pretty sure his leaky car is an Oldsmobile.)

[petronius]

13. Is it possible that the smell is just in the exhaust from the car? I think that

a poorly maintained worn-out engine can exhaust a bunch of un-combusted fuel. Still, I'd call the fire department, or ask police department to send a car by with the windows rolled down...

[MorningGlow]

14. Would it smell if the car is not running?

It smells like gasoline, definitely, and it smells whenever the cars are in the driveway (not running). I just opened the window over the kitchen sink (the one directly opposite his driveway) and even though it's raining pretty hard, it still STINKS to high heaven.

[petronius]

15. I think you'd smell it for a while after the car was driven, but if you smell it when the

car has been sitting for a few hours then it's not that. If it's still a strong smell during a rainstorm, I'd make a call.

For a good neighbor I'd talk to him first, but if you've arrived at the point of mutual non-recognition then let the FD or PD handle it...

[MorningGlow]

16. Thanks

Yeah, it smells even after the car has been sitting overnight--like today, for instance (even in the rain).

I will make the call. Even though Mr. MG and I joke about wishing his disaster of a house/property would burn down, we don't mean it really. :)