The city of Rocky River is taking many calls about a “strange” odor.
“It smells very strong, swampy, oily, and like something is rotting,” Rocky River Fire Chief Aaron Lenart told Fox 8 News Wednesday.
Lenart said he wants to reassure residents there’s not a safety or health issue, but he said the smell is “bad.”
Lenart said construction crews are building new condos along Hilliard Avenue south of I-90 and an oil well, from around 1910, was found.
The wells were dug by homeowners or farmers to heat their homes over a hundred years ago and the well needed to be capped for environmental reasons before construction can continue.
A subcontractor was digging to cap the well but punctured it releasing a strong odor of natural gas and an oily smell, according to Lenart.