Recent Incidents
Sunflower Oil Spill Snarls Traffic-Fire Police Assist
May 7th, 2008, 3:30 PM
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WEDNESDAY MAY 7, 2008 - Fire police were dispatched at 3:30 p.m. to assist with traffic control at Engleside intersection after a sunflower oil spill closed South Queen Street in the city, snarling traffic during rush hour. Willow Street, West Willow and Refton fire police closed Willow Street Pike at Golf Road to stop the flow of traffic onto South Queen Street. Fire police remained on the scene until 9 p.m.
Spilled oil fouls street
Snarls city traffic BY MICHAEL YODER, Intelligencer Journal Staff
A vat of sunflower oil fell off a truck traveling on South Queen
Street Wednesday afternoon, forcing motorists following in its wake to
navigate a slick, sticky roadway.
A city official said the vat was not secured when it broke through
the door of the truck and crashed onto the street, spilling about half
of the 500 gallons of oil it held, causing a major traffic headache.
Donna Jessup, operations supervisor for Lancaster city, said the
spill was one of the larger ones she has had to deal with during her 28
years with the city. She said it posed little threat to the environment
Once workers were able to contain the spill, Jessup said the primary concern was getting vehicles safely through the city.
Traffic was backed up from Chesapeake Street to the Highland Avenue
Bridge at the city's southern edge from 2 to 3:30 p.m. A single lane
was kept open for traffic.
"Unfortunately, it couldn't be a back alley," Jessup said. "The location this time was just rough."
The driver of the truck, who was not identified by police and
declined to give his name, said he was delivering the sunflower oil in
his Kettle Krisp snack foods truck to the Kellogg Co. plant in East
Hempfield Township.
A label on the vat said it was owned by Good Food Inc. of Honey Brook.
The truck was stopped at North Queen and Chesapeake streets when the
light turned green and the driver started forward, according to police.
The driver said he looked in his rearview mirror and saw the vat
burst through the door of the truck, spilling its contents on the road.
He called 911, and emergency crews were dispatched to contain the oil.
The driver said he made a stop in Willow Street to secure the load because he had felt it moving in the back of the truck.
City fire Lt. Harry Watkins said the load was unsecured in the back
of the truck. When the driver moved his truck forward, it slid toward
the rear of the truck and broke through the door.
Upon arrival, a fire department crew immediately secured the inlets
that allow water to drain into the sewer system along that stretch of
the street so the oil could not enter.
A layer of sand was spread on the street to absorb the rest of the oil.
An inspector from the Department of Environmental Protection was called to the scene of the spill.
Cleanup crews came later in the afternoon to sweep up the smelly
mess, and members of the fire department stayed on the scene to oversee
the work until the cleanup was complete.
Queen Street was completely opened to traffic shortly after 9 p.m.
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