FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 5, 2010

Union County Emergency Responders Shine in Recent Hazmat Incident

Union County Office of Emergency Management responders (l-r) Ronald Salermo, Erin Macri, Jon Di Iorio (facing camera), and Michael Tharaldsen gear up to address an overturned, leaking tanker truck carrying 8,000 gallons of gasoline.

Union County, NJ - When a tanker truck recently overturned at the western edge of the Union County with 8,000 gallons of gasoline on board, the result could have been a disaster.  Instead, Union County and neighboring Somerset County coordinated more than 130 responders to contain the spill and resolve the situation without further incident.

“It was a textbook example of how to protect the public in an emergency,” said Union County Freeholder Chairman Daniel P. Sullivan.  “You plan ahead, you drill and train, you ensure that the right equipment is on hand, and above all you work efficiently with other responders from multiple jurisdictions.”

The incident, which occurred on June 16, involved a gasoline tanker that overturned on a curve while traveling southbound on Bonnie Burn Road near Route 22.  The road forms a border with Somerset County and is within that county, but is maintained by Union County.

Fortunately the accident did not involve other vehicles, pedestrians or damage to buildings.  However, it did involve multiple factors that complicated the emergency response, including an injury to the driver requiring hospitalization, gasoline leaking from the tanker, potential contamination of a nearby waterway due to gasoline infiltration, damage to power lines, and a broken water main that impacted a nearby fire hydrant.

Fire departments were on the scene from Springfield, Berkeley Heights, Cranford, Westfield, Millburn, and New Providence.  The Union County Office of Emergency Management sent out its HazMat team equipped with grounding rods to prevent sparks from touching off an explosion due to gasoline vapors, along with absorbent materials to contain the spill.

The County also called upon a foam tanker, which is used to keep vapors down.  It is one of two foam tankers purchased by Union County through a federal Homeland Security grant.  The responding truck was stationed in Springfield, and the other is stationed in Elizabeth.

The response was coordinated through the Fire Mutual Aid system, in which fire departments from different municipalities respond jointly to emergencies that require more resources than one can handle alone.

Since the Mutual Aid system draws emergency resources out of the responding municipalities, it also requires a second layer of coordination in order to prepare other nearby responders to fill in, in case another emergency occurs.

“This episode could have resulted in significant environmental damage, which would have involved a costly clean-up effort among other complications,” said Sullivan.  “It affirms the value of investing in preparation and training.”