On Monday, September 14, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. The Town of Kingsville partially activated its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in response to a gasoline leak at the gas station located on the corner of County Road 20 and 23. Previous reports incorrectly identified this as a natural gas leak.

As a result of the operational review with local and neighbouring responders, a localized State of Emergency has been declared as a preventative safety measure in support of the management and actions necessary in support of the liquefied petroleum spill at 1958 County Road 20 West.

“While this emergency response area encompasses areas in both Kingsville and Essex, the effort to protect residents and property is not limited in the scope of our emergency responders. Collectively, taking actions necessary to protect this area, our municipal control group is in enhanced monitoring mode under the Emergency Operations Centre,” stated Kingsville Mayor, Nelson Santos. “The safety of the public is our top priority and emergency services personnel are working around the clock to bring this urgent situation to swift resolution.”

The Kingsville Fire Department has been on scene since early Sunday morning, along with the Ontario Provincial Police and the Windsor Fire and Rescue Service HAZMAT team. Residents within the identified hazard zone were evacuated, roads closed and traffic diverted from the affected area.

Roads remain closed until further notice and the public is asked to avoid the area and find an alternate route.

The Town of Kingsville will continue to monitor the scene closely and provide updates as the situation evolves. Subscribe to the Town’s newsfeed at www.kingsville.ca/news to receive alerts, or follow the Town on Facebook and Twitter. All non-emergent inquiries regarding this situation should be directed to the Town of Kingsville at 519-733-2305 extension 0.

Read this news update on our website

Photo by Chris Anson