A Medford, Massachusetts, family experienced an unexpected and hazardous incident on Tuesday when their home became the unintentional recipient of 385 gallons of heating oil. The delivery, mistakenly made to 48 Linwood Street in Medford instead of the identical address in neighboring Malden, was discovered only after the oil had been discharged into a basement with no tank to contain it. This error prompted a hazmat response and the evacuation of residents due to the risk posed by the oil fumes.
The Medford Fire Department speculated on how the error occurred. Deputy Chief Nicholas Davis said, "Normally when you're filling up an oil tank, once it starts to get full you’ll hear the whistle and that tells the driver to shut down the oil. There’s no whistle because there’s no tank. And do you look down for a second, look up and there’s 385 gallons of oil in the basement. So it shouldn’t happen," in a statement obtained by NBC10 Boston. Homeowner Dan Nguyen described the home as having been without an oil tank for about five years.
Upon discovering the spill, the Nguyen family was forced to leave their home and stay with relatives. The basement, where possessions and memories lay intermingled with fuel, became a no-man s-land of contamination. "I feel terrible. I want cry," Tien Nguyen, Dan Nguyen's brother, told NBC10 Boston.
Environmental concerns and the financial burden of such a spill are significant. Cleanup can reach exorbitant costs, potentially up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, as has been covered in past investigations by NBC10 Boston. In this case, however, the burden of cleanup is expected to fall on the oil company responsible for the delivery mishap. According to environmental attorney Susan Crane, "These facts are egregious. This has nothing to do with homeowners coverage," indicating the liability of the oil delivery service in a statement to NBC10 Boston.
The Department of Environmental Protection responded to the site to oversee the cleanup process, ensuring it is conducted properly and according to environmental safety standards. The oil company involved has yet to publicly address the incident or outline its response plan. Homeowner Dang Nguyen, reflecting on the situation, expressed confusion about the delivery to a property clearly lacking the infrastructure for such a commodity. "I think the guy come in to the wrong address," Dang Nguyen told WCVB. As the cleanup progresses, the full impact of the spill, both environmentally and financially, remains to be seen.
