[Report 1956] / Medical Officer of Health, Solihull County Borough.

  • Solihull (England). County Borough Council.
Date:
1956
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1956] / Medical Officer of Health, Solihull County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    35/42 (page 31)
    Two complaints were received from householders during the year of the smell of petrol inside the houses Both were immediately investigated and both were found to be in residen tial areas, thus excluding the possibility of underground tank leakage. The first householder complained of petrol fumes in a bedroom over the garage and investigation revealed that he had let his garage to a neighbour and that the fumes were only present at night time when the bedroom window was open. The fumes were consistent with those from a hot car engine and it was obvious that the tenant of the garage was garaging the car whilst hot and that the fumes were gaining access to the bedroom (via the garage roof) through tli e open window. The second coiinjxuj.nt tdiiier more serious in that the fumes were in the downstairs rooms of the house particularly the living room As petrol rationing had now commenced a search was carried out for illegal storage of petrol but none could be found Finally a next door neighbour confessed that he had siphoned petrol from the tank of his car and had inadvertently spilled some which he thought mig..^ be the Cause The house was kept under observation and the fumes rapidly cleared.