Warning: Graphic Content
A family’s basement is looking like it’s been hit with a biblical plague after it was found flooded with animal blood.
Nick Lestina, who has a family of seven in Bagley, Iowa, has been preparing his home to put it on the market.
However, their biggest issue wasn’t people conflicted over buying the property – part of their home was drenched in animal blood.
Check out the video below (warning: contains graphic imagery):
Lestina explained to NBC affiliate WHO-TV of Des Moines they have lived next to Dahl’s Meat Locker for a decade with no problems. That was until October 3, when he noticed his sump pump spewing red liquid.
As per WHO-TV, Lestina said:
Nobody wants to see that, smell that. I wouldn’t want that for anybody to have that in their house.
After two weeks, blood is still leaking into their basement. This came about after Dahl’s dumped animal remains down drain pipes – which, unfortunately, were connected to Lestina’s home.
The Iowa Department of Public Health told the family it’s not safe to live in the home – they’re currently staying with relatives in Panora until the gruesome situation is rectified.
Lestina told the Des Moines Register:
I’ve had a company come out for cleaning and sanitizing, but they can’t start that process until it stops coming up the drain. I’ve been talking to different excavation people. It hasn’t been a promising deal. I need dry weather.
Luckily for the family, the basement was only used for keeping odd things (holiday decorations, spare mattresses – nothing too substantial).
Iowa Department of Natural Resources senior environment specialist Keith Wilken was called in to inspect the home – he quickly traced the source of the mess to the neighbouring meat locker. ‘It smelled like a meat processing facility when I entered the house,’ he said, as per the Des Moines Register.
After speaking to Kaitlin Dahl, the owner of the meat locker, he was told blood was flushed down the floor drains after killing hogs and cattle.
Wilken worked with the owners to eliminate extra mess, while he added: ‘A contractor will pump that waste and dispose of it properly.’
Lestina explained the clean-up will cost around $2,000, and Dahl’s is now keen to help – after the story appeared on TV and other news outlets.
Lestina said:
That’s going to eat up the insurance right there. I also got a quote from a plumber at $2,300 for the sump pump and the water heater since the pump, which is only three months old, had a bunch of animal fat run through it.
I don’t know if there’s been a change of heart. Now, they are reaching out and wanting to help.
Kaitlin said it was never the plan to ignore the issue: ‘We don’t want to harm anybody. We’re not bad people. We’re trying to make a living, not enemies.’
For Lestina, he just wants for his family to move back in without having to resort to legal matters.
Lestina added:
I just want to move back into my house. I’m not looking for a pity party. I just want them to take responsibility for what’s been caused. I feel that’s fair.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.