SWANVILLE - Several residents on the northwest side of Swan Lake caught wind of a gas smell Wednesday morning. After a visit from the Belfast Fire Department, the source remained a mystery.

Belfast Fire Chief Jim Richards said the department responded to a call at 6:45 a.m. from 1406 Swan Lake Avenue. There, several residents reported an odor that suggested a gas leak, he said. Richards said there are four or five houses located near the address of the complaint.

Firefighters investigated but were unable to find the source of the smell.

”Three or four residents smelled it, so it must have been something in the air,” he said. “It wasn’t from a residence. I think it was a cloud coming from most anywhere, but I don’t know.”

Asked if this was a familiar scenario, Richards said it wasn’t.

As a precaution, local officials notified M&N Operating Company, the subsidiary of Spectra Energy that oversees operations of the Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline in Maine. The natural gas pipeline passes through Monroe, roughly 1.3 miles northwest of the Swanville address where the odor was reported.

Marylee Hanley, a spokeswoman for M&N, confirmed that the company’s gas control office received a call from Waldo County officials at 7:30 a.m. Workers inspected the pipeline in the vicinity and did not detect any issues, she said.

“We will continue to monitor the pipeline 24 hours, 7 days a week,” she said.

Ethan Andrews can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com