May 08--The Central Fire Department quickly responded and extinguished the fire to the rear tires of the tanker carrying 7,800 gallons of ethanol. Central and other assisting fire departments responded to the fire just before 8 p.m. and an explosion was prevented by firefighters.
"They got it out before it (caused) any damage to the tank, but it did burn the air lines off the truck," Chief Mike Moore of the Central Fire Department said, adding no injuries occurred in the incident.
Robbie Binkley, a Central firefighter, said the neighborhood was lucky the ethanol didn't explode. "It probably would have taken out a few houses close by," he said.
Binkley said there was some kind of mechanical failure for the brakes of the tanker to lock up. He credited the quick response of the Central Fire Department to stopping an explosion. Binkley said the driver was lucky but was "scared to death."
A total of 7,800 gallons of ethanol would be transferred to another tanker, Binkley confirmed. "It's going to take several hours," he said. "Fair Grove (Fire Department) had one and it took them about 13 hours to do it. We are hoping not to do that."
Binkley said tankers routinely load up ethanol from southern Davidson County and he believes transports it to Greensboro. He said tankers routinely transport ethanol each day down Beck's Church Road.
"We hear they do it because of a shortcut to the highway," Binkley said, referring to why the tankers transport ethanol from Healing Springs to its route of Interstate 85.
Binkley said it's concerning for the ethanol being transported down Beck's Church Road because it's too populated. "That stuff shouldn't be in (residential areas)."
There were no evacuations due to the incident, Binkley said. An explosion would have been "awful" for the houses and people in the area, the firefighter reiterated.
Maj. Alton Hanes of Davidson County Emergency Services is the emergency management coordinator for the county. He said his office had recently received complaints from residents in the area regarding the tankers. Hanes said there are no regulations to prevent tankers from traveling on a road, such as Beck's Church Road. One resident recently complained of the issue to The Dispatch.
"I have had some recent calls in regard to this," Hanes said. "We are working on addressing those issues, however, there are no rules or regulations to restrict travel on this road."
Hanes said he's trying to "mitigate" the issue with the company that's supplying the ethanol to the tankers. The major said the problem is that there are multiple trucking companies hauling the ethanol.
"So the facility is not responsible for the transport of it," Hanes said.
The Davidson County Sheriff's Office, Davidson County Emergency Management, Davidson County EMS, Davidson County Fire Marshal's Office, N.C. Department of Transportation, as well as the Central, Holly Grove, South Lexington and Linwood fire departments responded to the scene.
Darrick Ignasiak can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 217, or [email protected]. Follow Darrick on Twitter: @DispatchDarrick.
Copyright 2014 - The Dispatch, Lexington, N.C.
