Punxsy firefighters clean up fuel spill in creek
PUNXSUTAWNEY — A passerby spotted what appeared to be a fuel spill Friday evening in the Mahoning Creek on Route 36 and Front Street, where the cement slabs underneath the East End Bridge have been undergoing replacement for the last two years.
Punxsutawney Fire Department Chief Chris Smith was contacted and arrived on the scene to confirm that a hazmat incident may have occurred, and the county dispatched firefighters to clean up the spill.
Punxsutawney’s Central Fire Department, whose firehall is located right across the street from Mahoning Creek, where the workers have had a pump working around the clock diverting water from the area where the concrete was poured.
Smith directed firefighters to place booms across the area of the fuel spill, since the pump was shut down but apparently was leaking bio-friendly fuel.
Charlie Hoeh, Punxsutawney borough emergency management coordinator, was on the scene as well and was in contact with Jefferson County Emergency Management regarding the spill.
“The pump supposedly operated with a nontoxic, non-hazardous, bio-safe oil,” Hoeh said, adding that some of it got into the creek but he didn’t how much.
“Central has the Hazmat spill supplies at its station, and those booms absorbed up what was there,” he said.
Hoeh said those booms are designed to absorb gasoline, oil and petroleum products. They don’t soak up the water, just the oils.
“The oil is light, so it floats on top of the water and can be soaked up easily,” Hoeh said. “The Central guys removed the pump out of the water so no more oil would roll out of it.”
He said that someone was walking by on the East End Bridge and saw the bluish green slick on the water.
A representative from the company was on scene to assess the situation.