Pump runs into a problem
We will run into a lot of emergencies everyday, some people will die of this, some will survive. What we should do now is preventing these things from happening.
Emergency crews scrambled Monday in Stephenville after a motorist apparently knocked a gasoline pump out of alignment at a local convenience store, causing about 100 to 150 gallons of gas to spill.
An area of about the size of a city block was evacuated, including a beauty shop across the street, because of the potential of ignition, fire officials said.
Fire Chief Jimmy Chew said 12 crew members, three trucks and an ambulance responded to the scene shortly after noon at Lilly’s/NuWay at 1165 Washington St. Chew called for a city dump truck loaded with sand and cut off power to the scene.
Chew said the sand was used to create a berm on the east side of the building to keep the gasoline from spreading.
The attendant at the store was unaware of the spill until notified by a customer that the pump was leaking. The attendant then turned the pump off, Chew said.
“At first it was thought the emergency shut-off did not work,” Chew said. “We think it just took a few seconds for the fuel to stop running, but we shut off power to ensure it was stopped.”
Chew said someone apparently bumped the gas pump and drove off, either not knowing or not caring about their actions. The pump was not knocked over.
“I would think someone would know if they hit the gas pump, but maybe not if the vehicle was big enough,” Chew said.
Andrea Morrow, spokeswoman for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, said that the property owner contacted DSC Environmental, a hazardous materials crew in Ranger, and that she was pleased with the rapid response.
The crew arrived on the scene at about 4 p.m. to begin cleaning up, Chew said.
Police continue to investigate the incident.
“We don’t have a lot to go on right now,” Police Chief Roy Halsell said, adding that he was not aware of any witnesses to the accident.
Halsell said his officers will begin reviewing video footage from the store as soon as power is restored. He said the motorist may be charged with failure to leave identification.
Soon we are gonna know the result of this emergency.
