By Abigail W. Adams
A tractor-trailer’s gas tank ruptured Thursday, July 9 after driving over a drainage cap at the Irving gas station on Bath Road in Wiscasset. Speedy Dry was thrown under the leaking tank to absorb approximately 20 gallons of lost fuel. (Abigail Adams photo) |
A tractor-trailer being used to deliver vehicles to auto dealerships was disabled shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday, July 9 when its gas tank ruptured at the Irving gas station on Bath Road in Wiscasset.
The driver of the tractor-trailer, Sean Newton, of New Hampshire, pulled into the gas station for a drink, Wiscasset Assistant Fire Chief Nick Merry said. Newton was traveling to York for his final delivery of two vehicles.
The gas tank ruptured after the semi, owned by United Road, of Michigan, drove over a drainage cap at the gas station, Merry said.
Approximately 20 gallons of fuel had already leaked from the gas tank, Merry said, but fuel was still coming down at approximately 10 a.m. Speedy Dry was thrown under the leaking gas tank by a maintenance worker at Irving to absorb the lost fuel.
An area of the Irving parking lot was sectioned off by the Wiscasset Fire Department, but there were no disruptions to the gas station’s ability to conduct business. A mechanic from Bath was en route to help clean up the spilt fuel and attend to the tractor-trailer, Merry said.
The Wiscasset Police Department also responded to the scene but was able to leave once it was secured and attended to by the Wiscasset Fire Department. According to Merry, the fire department would remain on scene until the spill was cleaned up to ensure it does not ignite.
