Rural Fire Fighters Face 6000-Gallon Gasoline Spill
Many rural fire departments accustomed to grass, house, and barn fires find themselves underequipped when faced with flammable liquid spills amounting to 6000 gallons.
Such was the case along Interstate 80 near Meridian, Idaho, last November 8. But a mutual aid arrangement and plenty of common sense made the handling of a dual tanker truck rollover seem almost routine.
Idaho State Police received word about 9 p.m. of a tank truck and trailer weaving across both lanes of the freeway near Caldwell—15 miles west of Meridian—and dispatched a patrol unit to investigate.
Driver injured in rollover
By the time the trooper reached the area, the truck and trailer had overturned in the median strip near Meridian, rupturing the tanks of JP-4 jet fuel and injuring the driver.
State Police Sgt. Joe Mach immediately ordered the highway closed at interchanges on either side of the accident scene and summoned the Meridian Fire Department.
Chief Roger Welker had his volunteers wash down the spill from the newly surfaced highway and asked for assistance from neighboring Whitney Fire District in suburban Boise. Captain Tom Thacker arrived with a pumper and tank truck capable of spreading AFFF. Thacker conferred with Welker and decided to set up foam lines as a precaution.
Area diked with sand
Meanwhile, several trucks from the Idaho Highway Department district garage were dispatched with sand. They fashioned dikes at either end of the spill to prevent fuel from entering drainage ditches or spreading to other areas.
With the fire apparatus placed at a distance from the potential fire scene, the fire fighters stood by while wrecker crew righted the truck and trailer.
Four hours later, it was all over. The fuel seeped into the ground between the lanes of the freeway and everyone went home to bed—almost like a training exercise.
