| LTFD.org Recent Incidents
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 StaffA 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. © Copyright 2004 by Lancaster Township Fire Department |