Fire Department

Wisconsin State Patrol officers on eastbound I-90 requested the assistance of the Madison Fire Department when a semi truck began leaking large amounts of diesel onto the roadway. 

The semi driver says he thought an object on the roadway kicked up and struck the fuel tank, but he wasn’t sure. Now pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway, a fuel poured from a quarter-sized hole in the tank.

Engine Company 5 placed a tank trap under the leak, applied an absorbent powder known as Oil Dry to the fuel that had already spilled, and they created a barrier to prevent the fuel spill from running off into the nearby ditch. Ladder Company 6 was also in the area and offered to assist with plugging the hole in the tank and supplied additional Oil Dry for the spill.

Firefighters continued to monitor the leak until a tow truck could retrieve the semi. The tow company said it would also dispose of the contained fuel.