Kentucky Firefighters Deal with Spilled Beer

Aug. 23, 2013
The beer containers burst, releasing carbon dioxide and displacing oxygen inside the truck.

Aug. 22--About 2,400 cases of beer, mostly Budweiser products, had to be removed from an overturned beer truck that shut down a Lexington road for most of Thursday.

First, though, Lexington fire officials had to deal with bursting beer containers inside the truck, Lexington Fire Battalion Chief Jeff Nantz said.

Spurr Road, between Innovation Drive and Georgetown Road, opened just after 3 p.m. Thursday, after being shut down most of the day because of the accident, traffic information technician Chris Quan said. The beer containers burst, releasing carbon dioxide and displacing oxygen inside the truck, Nantz said. That made it unsafe for workers to unload the beer.

The fire department had to cut holes in the truck and use ventilation fans to blow fresh air in, Nantz said.

People traveling to and from nearby Sandersville Elementary, which is next to Masterson Station subdivision, were delayed.

The accident occurred at 7:06 a.m. The truck driver's injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, according to firefighter Drew Short.

Valarie Honeycutt Spears: (859) 231-3409. Twitter: @vhspears.

Copyright 2013 - Lexington Herald-Leader

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