FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2015
SALISBURY, NORTH CAROLINA
Two homes remain evacuated following Thursday’s ethanol
spill at Bringle Ferry Road, officials said.
A tanker carrying the highly flammable material crashed,
killing the driver, James Richard Sechler, 62, and resulting in a daylong clean
up effort.
Because of the proximity to a drinking water well at one of
the homes, remediation company personnel recommended the two families not
return to their homes just yet, said Frank Thomason, chief of emergency
services.
The accident happened at 6:47 a.m. after the driver ran off
the road, lost control of the tractor trailer and overturned. A portion of
Bringle Ferry Road was closed near Surratt and Panther Creek roads. The area
was shutdown much of Thursday until crews could contain and then remove the
ethanol.
Sechler was with Eco-Systems, a company based in Franklin,
Tenn. He’d just left a fueling station in Denton before the crash. There were
about 75 people from 14 agencies who responded to the scene, including local
and regional haz mat teams, fire and other emergency personnel.
Trooper J.G. Leonard told a Post reporter on Thursday that
investigators with the N.C. Highway Patrol were not able to determine an
immediate cause of the crash. He said officials will await a report from the
medical examiner.
The forced evacuation of the immediate area was due to
fire and explosion hazard concerns from the tanker, which was carrying
8,000 gallons of ethanol, Thomason said.
He added that about 3.500 to 4,000 gallons leaked from the tanker
onto the ground and surrounding areas, but did not reach a nearby creek as
earlier reported.
“Due to the closeness of the drinking well water at one of
the residences, which also provides water to the second home, a decision was
reached with cooperation of the residents and property owners for them not to
return to their residences at this time,” Thomasons said.
Officials with the trucking company, Eco-Systems, along with
the remediation company, Hepaco, are working diligently and closely with the
residents for their safety and that of their property.
Thomason said over the next several days, clean-up crews
will be removing the remaining spilled material and performing tests on the
well to ensure its safety.
Eco-Systems is working to place the residents in a local
hotel and take care of any other immediate needs during the clean up process
and completion of the well testing.
Source: http://www.salisburypost.com
//-------------------------------//
DRIVER KILLED, AREA EVACUATED AFTER TANKER OVERTURNS ON
BRINGLE FERRY ROAD IN SALISBURY, NC
THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2015
UPDATE: Officials have not released the name of the driver
of the tractor trailer that overturned on Bringle Ferry Road. According to N.C.
Highway Patrol Trooper J.G. Leonard, officials haven’t been able to give
notification to the family as of yet, he said.
The driver was the only one in the truck, Leonard confirmed.
The N.C. Highway Patrol is investigating the crash, but
because of the fuel spill they have not been able to begin an in-depth
investigation. Contributing circumstances to the crash have not yet been
determined.
Leonard said officials at the scene say they’ll need to
await the arrival of another truck to pump out the remaining fuel before the
tractor trailer can be righted. The driver is still inside the cab of the
tractor trailer.
10:50: Emergency crews continue to clean up after a tanker
rolled over on Bringle Ferry Road.
The driver of the tanker was killed in the accident, but his
body is still inside the truck because crews have to clean up the
ethanol spill and roll the tanker over before they can remove the body.
The name of the driver has not been released.
Officials said he was with Ecosystems out of Franklin, Tenn.
The scene is in the area of 11510 Bring Ferry Road, which is
near Panther Creek Road not far west from the Pooletown area. A portion of the
road is blocked off as crews continue to work.
According to a release from the N.C. Department of Public
Safety, the tanker was carrying 6,000 gallons — earlier reports said 8,000
— of ethanol when it rolled over around 6:45 a.m. causing a leak. A small
number, three or four, of homes in the area had to be evacuated due to the
spill. But officials said no residents were harmed.
The scene is now considered safe, officials said. The
leak has been contained, but emergency crews will be at the scene all day
cleaning up.
Officials said the concern early on was that an explosion
could happen because ethanol is highly flammable.
The tanker was coming from a fueling terminal in Denton when
it ran off the road and overturned on the driver’s side.
There are 14 agencies on the scene totaling 75
personnel. Haz-Mat teams from Rowan, Mecklenburg, Cabarrus and Davidson
counties have responded to the scene.
10:35: Additional manpower has been called to the
scene to assist with the cleanup.
The driver of a tanker truck carrying ethanol died this
morning when his truck overturned on Bringle Ferry Road, according to media
reports.
The area in the 11000 block of Bringle Ferry, near Panther
Point, was being evacuated as Haz Mat teams dealt with the highly flammable
substance.
The tanker was carrying 8,000 gallons of ethanol.
Officials at the scene said the driver was trapped inside;
rescuers were not able to reach him due to the fire risk.
Source: http://www.salisburypost.com