AHOSKIE – Where there’s smoke…..well, there may not necessarily be any fire.

Town of Ahoskie residents should not be alarmed upon seeing smoke rise from manhole covers or even from the vent stacks on top of their homes.

This month, Ahoskie’s Public Works Department will conduct smoke tests on the town’s entire sanitary sewer system.

According to Bryan Lewis, Director of Ahoskie’s Public Works Department, the smoke is non-toxic and therefore is totally harmless. The smoke also does not create a fire hazard.

&uot;Smoke should not enter your house unless you have defective plumbing or dried-up drain traps,&uot; said Lewis.

If smoke is entering your home, Lewis recommended contacting the testing crew working in your neighborhood. They will check to see why the smoke is entering a residence.

Smoke testing is a normal practice used by public works departments to check for line breakage and other possible defects within a sewer system.

Lewis said the information gained from this study would be used to make improvements to Ahoskie’s sewer system, thus making it more efficient to operate.

Questions concerning the smoke testing procedure can be directed to Lewis at 332-5165.