'No immediate danger' after 600,000 litres of gas leaks from Sydney Imperial Esso Station

Officials say there is no immediate danger to the public after a gas leak at the Imperial Esso Station tank farm in north end Sydney Friday afternoon.

Fire and hazmat crews, along with police, were called to the scene around noon.

Residents were told by mid-afternoon it was in their best interest to leave the area.

“I had an officer come to my door and ask me if I was able to evacuate, that there was an oil spill,” says area resident Kyler Howel. “I said ‘Yep, one minute’ and I was out.”

“We're not forcing them to leave,” says CBRM Director of Fire and Emergency Services Michael Seth. ”What we've done is advise them of the situation we're dealing with right now and we told them it's probably in their best interest to leave. We need to have access to the area if things escalate.”

So far, Seth says 600,000 litres of gasoline has leaked after a puncture in one of the tanks, adding work is underway to try and mitigate the problem, but it could take a while.

“Some of the resources that we require are coming from Halifax and Dartmouth area. We're trying to find resources locally that we can utilize and make things happen quicker, just so were not dealing with a full-scale loss of fuel.”

Officials say they are being cautious as they try and minimize impacts to the environment.

“The product has been contained within our secondary containment berm, and as far as duration of cleanup, it's hard to say at this point,” says Adam MacDonald, with Esso Imperial Oil. “We need to talk strategies.”

A street closure remains in effect as of Friday evening. George Street is closed at Debarres Street through to the station, which is located on Ortona Drive. Surrounding side streets are limited to local traffic only.

People are asked to avoid the area.