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Pete C.

wrote:

Paul M. Eldridge wrote:
Well, if the theft of heating oil could expose me to this kind of
liability it would certainly be of concern to me. My friends are now
estranged from their neighbours (it didn't do much for their own
marriage either), their property and that of their neighbours has been
torn-up to remove the contaminated soil, they're out of pocket a
considerable amount of money, they can no longer get homeowner's
insurance and they can't sell this property because the Department of
Environment won't sign off on the clean-up (apparently they're still
detecting traces of oil). It's just one big mess.

Be it related to theft as in this case, a leaking tank or falling ice
damaging the supply line, the consequences of a fuel oil spill are
pretty grim no matter how you look at it.

Generally speaking, an inside tank is your best choice. That said,
thirty years ago, my mother's oil tank, which was in located inside a
finished basement, began leaking while she was away on holidays. The
stench when she returned was unbelievable and all the carpets on the
lower level had to be replaced. They brought in big fans to try to
clear the smell but it lingered on for months; when you walked through
the door, you just wanted to gag.

My home is Toronto is all gas (heat, hot water, cooktop, wall ovens,
fireplaces, dryer, patio heater and BBQ) and, quiet honestly, if
natural gas were available here in Halifax, I would be pushing my way
to the front of the line.

Cheers,
Paul

On Sat, 05 Aug 2006 22:56:45 GMT, "Pete C."
wrote:

I'm not sure you can conclude much of anything from an incident that
resulted from criminal activity.

Pete C.

Funny isn't it how any incidents involving oil just get dismissed,
while anything bad that happens with nat gas gets carefully logged as a
matter of great significance?

First off, the incident was a result of criminal activity, not of a
problem with the tank/furnace. It does not get counted for the same
reason that recent gas explosion / arson / suicide in NYC does not get
counted.

Secondly there is not enough information in the above story. How was the
insurance company able to weasel out of covering damages resulting from
a criminal act committed against the homeowner? They would be covering
in the case of a burglary, arson, etc. Also why was there no additional
source of assistance like a crime victims compensation fund?

In addition to the story of outside tanks leaking and causing big
problems, every so often I see news reports of the old wrong delivery
address incident. This happened again last winter on Long Island, NY.
The oil company delivered oil to the wrong address. Turns out where
they delivered it the home once had oil heat, removed the basement
tank, but did not remove the fill tube. So, they pumped a couple
hundred gallons of oil into the wrong home's basement. On TV they
showed the huge cleanup underway, the family was forced to leave the
home for an indefinite period until the house was declared safe again,
etc.

That is also not counted because it is not in any way a failure of and
oil tank or furnace. The fill pipes should have been removed and are
required to be removed or at the very least capped on both ends by most
codes.

Now, this can be traced to stupidity. I wouldn't say it makes oil
unsafe, or a bad choice, depending on the other options available, etc.
But the difference is, I see this and put it in perspective. While
Pete sees anything go wrong with nat gas, and it's suddenly a big
issue, blown out of proportion, while oil gets a free pass.

Nope, since I always insure my equipment is properly maintained, I look
at the risks from that properly maintained equipment and with gas that
risk is greater.

Pete C.