[Editor's note: The article was originally published at 5:30 a.m. on Jan. 9. It has since been updated to fix incorrect information that was quoted from an Eagle-Tribune report. The Demerses have not yet rebuilt their basement.]
A Salem family struggling for the past seven years with an oil spill that rendered their home unlivable will soon move back into the structure because of a town mandate.
Michael Demers said he and his 69-year-old mother, Suzanne, plan to move back into their 21 Martin Ave. house after they remove the temporary mobile home placed outside it on Jan. 17. The house still reeks of oil because of a February 2007 spill, though, which makes the occasion less than celebratory for the Demerses.
On Feb. 6, 2007, over 200 gallons of home heating oil flooded the basement of their $300,000 home, the assessment for which dropped to roughly $55,000 in 2012 because of the spill.
The Demerses have claimed the spill was caused by an employee of Haffner's Oil in Lawrence, Mass., who overfilled their tank. The family lost their subsequent court case against Haffner's, Haffner's insurer Acadia, and two companies responsible for the cleanup — Enpro Services and Ambrose Environmental Management, Inc.
This placed the family in hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and started a lengthy struggle to convince the town to allow them to live in a 70-foot trailer on the property, according to Michael.
The Eagle-Tribune has reported that significant work has been performed to eliminate the some of the fuel odors, mitigate mold issues, and install a new venting system, just as the Demerses had hoped.
More work is needed and the work completed so far hasn't fully solved the problems, though, and Michael is reportedly worried the smell could make himself or his mother ill.
The town granted numerous extensions on move-out deadlines for the mobile home — which received complaints from area residents — although the Demerses were ultimately told they had to move out this month, according to the Eagle-Tribune. The Demerses are reportedly attempting to raise funds to demolish and rebuild the home.
Patch will have more on this story as it develops.
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