Firefighters Respond To Suspected Gas Leak In Hotel To Find Guest Storing Gasoline

Firefighters were alarmed to discover a guest storing dangerous amounts of gasoline in a hotel room on Thursday morning after they responded to a suspected gas leak near Lake Pontchartrain in eastern Louisiana.

The St. Tammany Fire District 12 responded to the scene after staff and guests of a hotel reported a strong odor of gasoline inside the premises of the Residence Inn in Covington, the New York Post wrote.

After a thorough inspection, the firefighters found that one of the hotel's guests had stored two large gas cans inside his room.

“We urge everyone to practice safety when storing gasoline! Please do not store gas [indoors], all gas must be stored in a well-ventilated area and only in proper containers,” the department warned people in a post on social media.

Meanwhile, the biggest U.S. fuel pipeline was shut down on Friday after hackers attempted a cyber-attack on the facility, Reuters reported.

The FBI said the attack was launched by a Russian-based criminal group called DarkSide. The agency said it was working to resume operations of the 5,500-mile Colonial Pipeline by the end of this week.

The sudden shutdown sparked panic buying among consumers who resorted to improperly storing gasoline in plastic shopping bags and other substandard containers, as the long lines in gas stations from Florida to Virginia went viral online.

"We are asking people not to hoard," U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told reporters at the White House. "Things will be back to normal soon."

In an unrelated story, almost 50 rabbits were found in a trashed suburban Chicago hotel earlier this week.

The Block Club Chicago reported that a woman had reportedly cared for 47 bunnies as pets at a MainStay Suites in Schaumburg. The unidentified woman was an extended-stay guest at the hotel, living in the room since March 2020.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions and the “Do Not Disturb” sign posted permanently at the door, hotel staff had not inspected the woman's room in months.

According to WGN, the woman started her stay with just three rabbits: one neutered, one male, and one female. An animal control worker mentioned that the woman “didn’t seem like a bad person, just someone who got overwhelmed quickly.”

The 47 rabbits were divided among different county animal control facilities and multiple Chicago-based animal shelters.