HomeMy WebLinkAboutOil Tank Detection Tips.pdfMaple Ridge Fire DepartmentMaple Ridge Fire DepartmentMaple Ridge Fire DepartmentMaple Ridge Fire Department
22708 Brown Avenue
Maple Ridge, B.C. V3X 9A2
How to Detect Underground Oil Tanks on PropertyHow to Detect Underground Oil Tanks on PropertyHow to Detect Underground Oil Tanks on PropertyHow to Detect Underground Oil Tanks on Property
• History of the property includes conversion of fuels, such as from oil to gas
• Check fuel suppliers for past fuel oil delivery records
• Contact local fire department to see if there is a record of tank removal
• Look for evidence of a buried oil tank
o Inspect the area around the home for oil fill or vent pipes
o Evidence of excavation outside and close to the building foundation walls
o Subsidence (depression) in such locations
o Foundation walls, and surrounding area may disclose abandoned oil lines, marks
o Seepage of oil through a building foundation wall (a serious oil leak has been happening)
• Oil odours or stains in a building basement or crawl space where oil-fired equipment is not installed
• Presence of an old oil-fired heating boiler or water heater with a new oil tank installed
• Freshly cemented-over wall patches, perhaps painted over, on a building foundation wall of an older
home where newer oil or gas fired heating equipment is installed may mark the point where flexible
copper oil lines from an outdoor tank penetrated the foundation wall.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact fireprevention@mapleridge.ca