Tractor Trailer Fails to Negotiate Turn in Frederick County
 
By Captain Christopher Harris
May 12, 2014
 

Frederick County Rescue Alarm 17-35 . At 05:39 hours, Station 8 was dispatch for a "Tractor Trailer Concrete Truck Overturned" at 11627 Green Valley Road in Frederick County. The site of the incident is a frequent location for incidents of this type.

Units from Station 8 arrived on-scene at 05:49 hours, to find a tractor-trailer carrying dry bulk cement from Lehigh Portland Cement Company, that was on it's side with the tank ripped into two pieces. The entire load of dry bulk cement had emptied from the tank and covered a large area of roadway, adjacent fields and into Beaver Dam Creek. The truck had laid over onto it's side before striking a bridge abutment, which in-turn, had ripped the tank apart.

The driver had self-extricated from the truck and was uninjured. The fuel saddle-tanks were leaking diesel fuel into a ditch that leads directly into Beaver Dam Creek, so crews began to dam and dike the ditch to stop the flow. A request was made for a Haz-Mat Response, which included the response of the Maryland Department of the Environment Emergency Response Team and Haz-Mat 33 from the Spring Ridge Fire Station. Another request was made for MD State Highway Administration to close MD Route 75.

Units from both Station 8 and Frederick County Station 17 (Libertytown) remained on the scene to assist with the mop-up of the fuel leak along with Haz-Mat 33 and MDE. Verizon was also on location due to a telephone pole being damaged as well as the disruption of phone service to the area.

Station 8 units returned to the station at 07:36 hours.

Maryland SHA was finally able to open MD Route 75 up at around 17:00 hours after clean-up of the incident was complete.

 
Units: PM-89, RS-8, E-81
 
Mutual Aid: FC Station 17 (Libertytown), FC Haz-Mat 33 (Spring Ridge), MDE, FC Sheriff's Department, MSP, SHA, Verizon