Water Damage Restoration in Painesville, OH

Fire officials say the odor is due to an excessive amount of the additive Mercaptan after a gas company changed suppliers over the weekend.

PAINESVILLE, Ohio — Fire officials in Painesville say they responded to "a spike of calls regarding natural gas odors both inside and outside structures throughout the area" on Monday.

According to a Facebook post from the Painesville City Fire Department, both Enbridge Gas (formerly Dominion) and Northeast Ohio Natural Gas changed suppliers over the weekend and that an excessive amount of the odor additive Mercaptan was the issue.

However, Enbridge Gas Ohio tells 3News that its natural gas lines are not involved with the odor investigation.

"Our service area overlaps with Northeast Ohio Natural Gas and that's causing confusion for residents," the company wrote in a statement to 3News.

What's Mercaptan?

"Natural gas is naturally odorless. The rotten egg smell associated with gas is the chemical Mercaptan, which is added to help identify leaks and is a safety precaution. This excess amount of Mercaptan is causing some lingering odors when appliances start up," PCFD explained.

Painesville fire leaders say both Enbridge Gas and Northeast Ohio Natural Gas will "respond to all calls about natural gas odors both inside and outside structures. PCFD will also respond to all calls of gas odors to make sure no hazards exist."

Those who smell natural gas are encouraged to call 911 and advised then to "evacuate the building and wait for the fire department."

For non-emergency questions or concerns, you can contact PCFD at 440-392-5848.

Similarly, the Chardon Fire Department posted on Facebook that "we are aware of gas-like odors in Geauga County. If you smell gas, or think you have a leak, contact your local fire department."

PAINESVILLE, Ohio – Rider’s Inn -- recently renamed Legacy Lounge and Event Center -- in Painesville, is permanently closed. Restaurant owner Kaela Alex closed the business in late December. On Facebook, she said she hoped to reopen when repair and maintenance issues were addressed.

That didn’t happen. And so, on March 6, she returned keys to building owner Elaine Crane.

“Yesterday we shut off the lights and locked the door for the very last time,’” she said in an email dated March 7. “[Crane] now has the building back due to its condition. I invested every penny I had but unfortunately was unsuccessful.”

Alex said she made her decision after a building inspection by a local, registered engineer detailed issues like water leaks, structural issues, fire code violations, corroded drainage pipes and more.

“The building needs attention. Once I realized the amount of money involved … and being responsible for this long list of items, I knew I had to tap out,” she said in an interview. “I gave it my all. It’s a little embarrassing. I feel like I failed.”

Alex has many emotions about the experience. Still, she said she is hopeful for the building.

“I just really hope that it gets back to the way it was,” she says. “It needs to be to continue to last for a long, long time.”

The operation has been two separate entities since Alex bought the hospitality business. At that time, Crane retained ownership of the 213-year-old inn. She still does.

For now, no business is operating in the space that has previously been several popular restaurants as well as a bed-and-breakfast inn and event center.

In a written statement Crane didn’t have much to say, “I am exploring the next steps to preserve this special part of Lake County History.”

Send dining, drinking and culture story ideas to Paris Wolfe at pwolfe@cleveland.com. Review her previous stories here. Follow Paris Wolfe on Instagram @pariswolfe.

PAINESVILLE TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WJW) – A father and his live-in girlfriend were sentenced to prison after investigators say they abused and tortured his children in Painesville Township.

Timothy O’Neill and Franchesca Maguire, both 43, were sentenced to six years in prison for endangering children.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office made the announcement on social media Thursday afternoon, marking the end of what detectives called “a lengthy child abuse case.”

The investigation started back in November 2023, when Lake County detectives learned about child abuse allegations at a home on Southwood Road.

According to the sheriff’s office, Detective Steven Ross led the investigation, determining that the children — an 8-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl — were physically and mentally abused by the adults as punishment.

Detectives said the children were starved, physically struck and had their mouths taped shut at times.

They were also forced to do strength training for hours, “veiled as exercise but intended as abuse and punishment,” the sheriff’s office said.

During the investigation, the kids were removed from their father’s custody and taken to live with another family member as more evidence came to light.

O’Neill pleaded guilty to two felony counts of endangering children on Jan. 30, while Maguire pleaded guilty on Thursday.

According to the Chardon Fire Department, they provided mutual aid to the Painesville Fire Department.

PAINESVILLE, Ohio — Flames broke out amid an early morning fire Tuesday at Avery Dennison’s Building No. 5, located at 250 Chester Street in Painesville.

The situation started at 4:46 a.m. when the Painesville Fire Department received a pull station fire alarm. When firefighters arrived minutes later, crews found "a fire in a thermal oxidizing unit, extending to the roof of the manufacturing building."

After requesting mutual aid, more than a dozen additional departments responded to the scene where Avery Dennison employees reported that staff had safely evacuated and everybody was accounted for.

"Firefighters first attacked the fire in the mechanical equipment and placed aerial ladders to take firefighters to the roof to begin attacking the roof fire spread," according to a press release from Painesville Fire Chief Thomas C. Hummel, Jr. "There was no extension of the fire into the building and damage was contained to the roof edge near the oxidizer ducking and the oxidizer itself. The cause of the fire was determined to be mechanical failure in the thermal oxidizer and the origin of the fire was in the thermal oxidizer unit."

Nobody was hurt, but some fire crews remained on the scene as of 12 p.m., "performing overhaul operations to extinguish smoldering fires."

Departments that provided mutual aid include Fairport Harbor, Concord Township, Grand River, Perry, Madison, Leroy Township, Mentor, Kirtland, Chardon, Eastlake, Hambden, Willowick, Willoughby Hills, Willoughby, Burton, Euclid and Highland Heights.

According to their website, Avery Dennison is a "global materials science company specializing in the design and manufacture of labels and packaging materials for virtually every industry."

Avery Dennison released the following statement to 3News:

Early this morning, Wednesday, April 9, Avery Dennison reported a fire at its Avery Chester Street production facility located at 250 Chester Street in Painesville, Ohio. The team immediately alerted the Painesville Fire Department. All employees were safely evacuated and accounted for.

Local fire services responded immediately and remained on scene for several hours. The fire has been fully contained.

The safety and security of our employees is our top priority. We commend the swift action of our team to ensure a safe evacuation. We want to thank the Painesville Fire Department and those from other municipalities for their quick response to the situation.