On 5/8/15 at 1359 hours, Co. 20 was alerted for a motor vehicle accident on Interstate 79 at the 156 mile marker. Squad 203 responded with five personnel; additional information advised that a tanker truck carrying diesel fuel was on fire in the median and that the driver was out of the vehicle with severe burns. A large column of smoke was visible from Star City and a full assignment was requested from Co. 17, Co. 23, Co. 13, Green County Co. 18 (PA) and the Monongalia County Hazardous Incident Response Team. Squad 203 arrived to find one tanker truck in the median fully involved and the driver being treated for severe burns. Diesel fuel was observed flowing into a drainage system and into a local stream. WVDOH and DEP was notified. Additional tanker assignments from Company 11, 15, 16, and 21 were requested. An LZ was established and the patient was airlifted by Healthnet to the West Penn Burn Center. Squad 203, Engine 175, and Green County 18-5 began fire suppression operations with foam application as the Monongalia County Hazardous Materials Team and DEP arrived and began addressing the creek with booms and pigs, containing the fuel before it reached the Monongahela River. From alarm time to clear time was approximately 7 hours. The Star City Volunteer Fire Department would like to extend our gratitude to all who responded and assisted in this operation.
