On Tuesday night at Vessigny Village, La Brea, the smell of fumes was so strong that a resident initially assumed someone was pouring kerosene around the house to set it on fire with people inside.
Another thought fuel was leaking from the fuel tank of a brush cutter.
Residents later found the cause of the smell was a pipeline leak in the Vessigny River, which flows into the nearby Gulf of Paria.
"I thought someone was throwing pitch oil (kerosene) or diesel in the yard. I thought someone wanted to burn down the house," Kevina Dickson said.
She and five other people, including three children, live across the road leading to the beach.
Dickson recalled that the family became aware of the smell before 10 pm.
"Some neighbours said they were getting the smell earlier during the day. Heritage (Petroleum Company Ltd) got the message and responded, because I saw workers right after 10 pm. The family, including my 91-year-old grandmother, was able to sleep kind of good last night," Dickson said.
[caption id="attachment_924823" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Affected Vessigny resident Kevina Dickson speaks with Newsday on Wednesday. - Marvin Hamilton[/caption]
Heritage and Quintana Sales and Services Ltd workers were at the site on Wednesday when Newsday visited.
Residents said officials from the state-owned company told them not to use any open flames in the interim.
"We cannot cook, and they promised to give us meals. I bought breakfast this morning because I could not wait on them. The family is still waiting for lunch," Dickson said.
"This is the first time I have seen an oil spill this big in this river. We do not know how long it would take to finish the clean-up."
The family, from a nearby house, left on Tuesday night because of the strong smell.
Heritage confirmed seeing oil in the river. A release from the company said in keeping its incident response protocols, Heritage immediately directed the lease operator, Trinity Brighton Operations, to suspend pumping and the pipeline was isolated. The release said the company is engaging residents and relevant stakeholders.
"Heritage officials are liaising with stakeholders to share up-to-date information and address the related concerns of those impacted," it said.
"In keeping with international best practice, vacuum trucks have been mobilised to recover the spilled oil, and excavation equipment remain on site to assist with containment and repair works."
Heritage also said it had notified regulatory bodies like the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries and the Environmental Management Authority of the incident.
It said the company was also doing air-quality tests in the area. and thus far, the readings were within normal levels.
Other recent oil spills
The spill is the latest in south Trinidad. In the past few months, Heritage has responded to several similar reports.
On September 13, oil was spotted in drains at Point Ligoure, Point Fortin, near the Atlantic LNG compound. A clean-up team contained and removed it.
On October
