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::: COMMUNITY NEWS

The spill occurred in the pump station closest to Jackson Highway.

Diesel pump breakdown causes small spill at Country Store

Published Sunday, March 18, 2007

A man refueling his truck at the Country Store gas station early Sunday afternoon acted quickly when the nozzle became unscrewed and separated from the hose, spewing a stream of diesel fuel, according to fire officials.

The man's prompt action in alerting store employees to the problem was one of the factors that kept the freak occurrence from turning into a serious danger to the community and its wildlife.

The other factors were the low volatility of diesel fuel compared to gasoline and the good fortune of having a fire station located directly across the street for a fast response, said Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District spokesman Capt. Duane Arend.

"The flammability level of diesel is quite low," Captain Gregory A. Pryor of Rancho Murieta Station 59 said at the scene.

Gasoline vaporizes faster and "it's the vapors that burn," said Arend. He added that both fuels burn once vapors form and ignite.

It's unknown how much diesel fuel spilled before Country Store employees could shut off the supply to the pump, but emergency personnel at the scene characterized the spill as small.

The incident was reported at 12:19 p.m., according to Elizabeth Gregory, a California Department of Fish and Game warden.

By coincidence, a Fish and Game employee was at the station getting gas when the spill occurred. She alerted the department, Gregory said.

Firefighters from Station 59 used coils of absorbent white material and a granular, cat-litter-like material to contain and absorb the fuel spill.

After the threat of fire, clean-up and disposal of the hazardous spill material were the top priorities.

Fish and Game employees took samples of fluid from the nearby storm drain to determine how much fuel had entered the community's drainage system. Gregory said it was apparent little had gotten that far.

Community Services District Utility Supervisor Rob McLeod pried the grates off the storm drain by the air and water kiosk at the gas station and on Murieta Drive at the intersection with Jackson Road to enable county hazardous materials personnel to assess and clean up the spill before it could find its way to the Cosumnes River.

Arend said the clean-up was focused on the storm drain on the gas station property, indicating contamination hadn't advanced beyond that point.

During the mop-up effort, the remaining island of the gas station remained open, although Country Store traffic was snarled at times.

The gas station is located across the street from the entrance to Murieta North. It opened earlier this year after closing for a month to install new pumps and change over to a new brand of gas. Gregory said the station had recently been inspected as part of the changeover.

Gregory and fire personnel noted that every gas station is equipped with an emergency shut-off for the pumps. The Country Store's is located on the outside wall of the store, across from the pumps.