What’s that odor?

Three Rappahannock County families have been placed in temporary shelter by the American Red Cross awaiting the outcome of water sample testing from their individual apartments near Massies Corner.

“We’ve got three families out,” said Art Candenquist, the county’s interim emergency management coordinator. “It’s the first time in a while that we’ve had displaced families in Rappahannock County.”

The problem, if indeed there turns out to be one, surrounds an unusual odor that brought local fire and rescue from Washington, Amissville, and Flint Hill to the complex not once, but twice last Saturday.

Both emergency calls were for the reported odor of natural gas.

It was during the second response that potentially positive readings were measured by firefighters, but only when detectors were adjacent to the various water outlets in the apartments.

“Sometimes this occurs naturally,” the emergency manager noted. “We’ll find out when the testing is complete. But these are water issues. There is no explosive situation.”

Water samples were taken and sent to Culpeper on Tuesday and testing should be completed by the end of this week. In the meantime, the families have been advised to remain in the temporary housing.

“The Hillsdale store remains open,” Candenquist stressed, “but its kitchen for now is closed.”