It could have been a real disaster in the center of the city this morning, when a loaded butane tanker sprung a leak in a crowded neighborhood with a school nearby. Sometime around 10:30 a gas Tomza truck that was heading from Freetown Road into Barrack Road started to leak causing a massive quantity of the flammable gas to escape into the atmosphere. The Fire Department was called into action and we caught up with the event as the truck was being dowsed with water.
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
It might have seemed like a fire drill on Barrack Road this morning as this gas bowser was parked in the middle of the road while firemen doused it with water while all businesses and households in the area, including the Ebenezer School were evacuated. But this was no drill. At around 10:30 when this gas Tomza truck made it to the intersection of Barrack Road and Victoria Street, it sprung a leak, sending hundreds of gallons of the volatile gas into the air.
Ted Smith, Assistant Fire Chief
"We have a Bobtail LPG truck carrying liquefied petroleum gas. A hose broke releasing the product into the atmosphere. The danger of an explosion is as real as it can become apart from the real explosion. Everyone in the neighborhood is breathing normal, routinely, and the product was released, a massive quantity of the product was released. If you came out earlier you would have had footage of it in the atmosphere of it in the air just drifting around. All it needed was an ignition source which could have come from the flipping of a light switch or a simple cell phone and then we would have had an explosion."
That danger had fire personnel hurriedly trying to get people out of harm's way. Those in the immediate area didn't have to be told what to do.
Bernard Acosta,
"I was working and they informed me that something was going on around my house, because that is my house over there, and I came as quick as possible and I saw a lot of fumes all over with this gas truck, fumes all around it and around my house. I barely could see my house."
Alfonso Noble,
Like a fog?
Bernard Acosta,
"Yeah it was like a fog."
Alfonso Noble,
Were you concerned that this thing might catch fire?
Bernard Acosta,
"Well because my house is right next to the truck so of course I was really concerned."
David, Area Resident
"My father assisted the people in there and so the truck passed through there and it finally stopped right in front of my shop and then they said the gas tank had a leak or something. I had my family in there and two of them came out. We couldn't even lock up the shop. Everybody came out and we just took out important documents we had. We even left our two vehicles."
He could laugh about the whole matter, largely because of quick work by the Fire Department that sent in personnel to close off the leaking valve.
Ted Smith,
"We immediately went into operation trying to evacuate the neighborhood as quick as possible and then after that some firefighters had to be sent in within the gas itself to locate the leakage and try to close off the leakage. We did locate the valves and close the valves but not before 90% of the product came out."
Bernard Acosta,
"For me they did a good job because we have this guy that closed off the valve to stop the gas from leaking. To me he did a good job of bravery in that he just went in and closed off the valve which slowed the whole situation down."
And in the end, that effective response, and in no small part, just plain good luck, saved lives and property.
