Wilmington fire crews help stop chemical leak in Wayne County

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) – The Wilmington Fire Department’s Regional Hazmat team responded to an overturned tanker in Wayne County last night.

WFD received the call for assistance around 9:30 p.m.

The fire department sent a full crew to the area of Seven Springs to help the Pricetown Fire Department. When crews arrived, they found a tanker with 6800 gallons of methanol in the ditch. The tanker was partially rolled over.

A WFD spokesman says the driver was trying to turn around to avoid flooded roadways when his trailer slid off into the ditch. Methanol was leaking from a 2″ pipe on top of the tanker.

The team was able to slow the leak significantly. Another tanker was brought in to transfer the product from the damaged tanker into it. The team was there throughout the night and returned to Wilmington this morning. It is estimated that approximately only 100 gallons of methanol escaped. No one got hurt.