Thursday, May 26, 2011

Fuel Spill From Tanker Collision Closes Golden State Freeway in Sun Valley

On Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 10:41 PM, 11 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 4 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 2 LAFD Foam Tenders, 1 LAFD Water Tender, 1 EMS Battalion Captain, 2 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams and 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, a total of 74 Los Angeles Firefighters under the direction of Battalion Chief John Drake, responded to a Traffic Collision with Large Fuel Spill on the northbound Golden State (I-5) Freeway near Glenoaks Boulevard in Sun Valley.

Los Angeles Firefighters arrived quickly to find a semi-truck tanker with twin tank trailer, both laden with gasoline, parked on the right shoulder of the freeway. The trailer was observed leaking large amounts of the volatile motor fuel onto the roadway and across northbound lanes of travel.

LAFD Responds To Large Fuel Spill from Tanker on Golden State Freeway. © Photo by Mike Meadows. Click to view more...According to witnesses, the tandem tanker truck was involved in a collision with another vehicle, causing damage to valves beneath the truck's fully-laden 4,800 gallon capacity trailer.

First arriving LAFD personnel staged their apparatus upwind and uphill from the parked gasoline transporter. With hundreds of gallons of flammable liquid already spilled, firefighters immediately curtailed traffic along the north- and south-bound lanes of the busy interstate highway to prevent ignition and diminish environmental harm.

As law enforcement agencies managed traffic along the miles-long closure that included many on- and off-ramps, transportation officials assisted firefighters who had labored intensely and successfully for nearly an hour, to dike the tide of gasoline before it could enter the storm drain system.

LAFD Responds To Large Fuel Spill from Tanker on Golden State Freeway. © Photo by Mike Meadows. Click to view more...Patrons of a freeway adjacent motel behind a tall sound wall were sheltered in place, as teams of Los Angeles Firefighters stemmed the leaking trailer while applying an absorbent and firefighting foam to ease the cleanup and limit the potential for ignition.

No injuries were reported. There were no formal evacuations.

Following the Los Angeles Fire Department's successful mitigation of the primary hazard, control of the scene was returned to California Highway Patrol, State Department of Transportation and County Health Hazardous Materials officials.

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Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department
Article any source

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