The incident occurred at around 1.45 pm, when a resident became concerned by the strong smell of what they thought was gas at their home.
However, when both the Fire and Rescue Service and Jersey Gas arrived at the scene they were surprised to discover the cause of concern was in fact an exotic durian fruit.
Station commander Clive Russell said: ‘A strong smell of gas in any location is a worrying fire risk, confined in a building it can be explosive.
‘This being the case, the Fire and Rescue Service responds immediately with two crews and calls in further support from the part-time on call team.
‘Jersey Gas also provide an immediate response.
‘Some residents may be unaware that gas in it’s natural state is not only colourless but odourless as well.
‘The smell is introduced on Island and is called a ‘stenching’ agent. This agent is deliberately noxious to humans.
‘So, confronted with this smell, crews began a search, which resulted in the most unusual discovery of an exotic fruit that was to blame for the alarm.’
However, the Islander was not the first to be duped by the smelly fruit – previously buildings around the world have been evacuated because of the stench of the fruit being mistaken for gas.
‘We are not alone in being duped by a foul smelling fruit,’ said Mr Russell. ‘A quick internet search identifies it has been the culprit in many a false alarm.’
- Originating from south-east Asia, the durian fruit is noted for its pungent aroma
- While the smell is alarming for some, it is strangely alluring to others and apparently if you can pluck up the courage to taste it, you can often ‘be hooked with a fruit that surpasses all others in the world’.
- It’s smell is said to resemble rotten onions, skunk spray, stale vomit and sewerage.
- According to Wikipedia, it’s taste is likened to ‘eating sweet raspberry blancmange in the lavatory’.
- The fruit us banned on Singapore’s rail network, as well as in many airports and hotels in south-east Asia.
The fruit has a reputation for causing similar problems around the world:
- In 2013, firefighters evacuated a row of city centre shops in Plymouth after being called to a suspected gas leak – only to discover it was the smell of durian fruit
- The smell of a durian also caused the evacuation of a hospital in Melbourne last year
- There was a brief evacuation of Yaohan Centre mall, in Richmond, Virginia, in 2013 because of the fruit
- And in Sydney officials evacuated a whole floor of an office building after smelling what they thought was a gas leak
