Sep 26, 2009 11:55 pm US/Eastern
Queens House Damaged By Wrong-House Oil Delivery
Ferrantino Fuel Corp. Pumps 100 Gallons Of Oil Into John Byas' Home, And He Doesn't Even Have An Oil Tank
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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A Queens homeowner is steaming mad at a fuel company that pumped 100 gallons of oil into his home – and he doesn't even have an oil tank.
CBS
A Queens homeowner is steaming mad at a fuel company that pumped 100 gallons of oil into his home – and he doesn't even have an oil tank.
His family has been forced out of their home, and his wife has been hospitalized from the fumes.
To say John Byas is angry over what happened to his home is putting it mildly.
"I work hard and it's a lot of money wasted," Byas said.
His newly renovated basement is ruined, his carpet yanked up, and furniture is piled outside in a heap, all because of a mistake made by the Ferrantino Fuel Corporation.
They delivered 100 gallons of oil to his home – pumped through an outside pump, flooding the basement – but Byas has lived at the home for two decades, and has never had an oil tank.
His daughter was home when it happened.
"The man was at a total loss," daughter Monica Sinclair said. "He was just demanding cash payment from us now, after delivering all this oil, 100 gallons."
Aside from damage to their home and possessions, Byas and his daughter became ill from the fumes. Byas' wife got so sick that she was taken to the hospital.
"I have to go to the doctor – I've been exposed to this oil yesterday, trying to salvage and clean up," Sinclair said. "It's not use, all our stuff is lost."
The fumes are so intense that firefighters say they can't spend more than 20 minutes on the scene, but even after just a couple minutes it becomes difficult to breathe.
"The fumes take an effect on you, a taste in the back of your mouth, loss of appetite, and feel a little run-down, but you gotta keep moving," Byas said.
Ferrantino Fuel has admitted to the mistake. They tell CBS 2 that they've apologized for the incident, and are doing everything possible to clean up the mess.
"I'm glad my daughter was home," Byas said. "If nobody was home, we'd have come here with oil and not known where it came from."
Byas said his home can be repaired, but wonders how this happened in the first place – and he worries that it could happen to someone else.
The Department of Environmental Conservation is investigating the case.
CBS 2's Kathryn Brown contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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