Faulty Truck Causes Three-Mile Diesel Spill In Dodgingtown

By Andrew Gorosko

Dodgingtown volunteer firefighters responded about 8:37 am on Monday, April 23, to a report of a hazardous condition and found that a commercial vehicle that had been traveling through Dodgingtown had leaked diesel fuel onto roadways for approximately three miles.

Dodgingtown Fire Captain Jason Shuttleworth, who was incident commander, said firefighters were dispatched to a report of a contractor’s truck leaking fuel as it traveled.

“We arrived on scene [at 80 Flat Swamp Road] to find a contractor’s truck with a mechanical issue with a its fuel pump causing it to leak approximately 15 gallons or so of fuel [onto roadways extending] from the intersection of Plumtrees [Road] and Taunton Hill [Road] to Route 302 to Flat Swamp Road,” Capt Shuttleworth said.

The contractor’s mechanic corrected the truck’s fuel leakage problem and the truck was then towed away, the captain said.

“The town highway [department] sanded the affected roadways due to the fuel causing slick roadways,” Capt Shuttleworth said.

“No waterways and/or storm drains were affected,” he said.

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) was notified of the diesel fuel spillage that had occurred, he said. DEEP did not respond to the incident, he said.

Resident Bob LaMarche of 161 Taunton Hill Road, who encountered the oily roadways while driving on Monday morning, said the slick road surfaces caused his vehicle to lose traction and skid.

Mr LaMarche expressed concerns that such incidents could lead to the contamination of underground water supplies that feed domestic water wells.