Friday Night Smell 'No Danger' to Residents, Officials Say

Did you smell that last night? . More than 400 calls were placed to  on Friday night from residents in Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, Berkley and Royal Oak complaining of an odor in the air similar to natural gas.

It turns out the odor was coming from  located at 707 W. Lewiston in Ferndale.

"We received a few calls of people thinking they had a gas leak," Royal Oak Fire Department Lt. Stacey Cruce said. "They (Polar) were conducting a blow-off event. It happens four times a year. ... There is no danger to residents."

The incident caught Royal Oak by surprise because the smell doesn't normally carry as far as it did Friday night, Cruce said, at least as far as 14 Mile. 

Cruce said the fire department was in contact with Consumers Energy and it were responding to all calls. Ferndale Police were also involved and consulted with plant management Friday evening who said there were no health concerns for the public.

Polar's offices are closed on the weekend, but requests for comment were left with the company's answering service Friday night and Saturday morning.

On Friday evening, the answering service said the company began receiving calls at 7:45 p.m. and that plant managers met with representatives from Consumers Energy and corrected "the problem" at 8:45 p.m. The answering service did not have information on what caused the odor, only that it would dissipate over time.

According to the company’s website, Polar "offers complete disposal and recycling of non-hazardous waste oil and wastewater at its Ferndale facility.