Green Country Agencies Credit Training In Chemical Spill Response

It's risky business dealing with a chemical spill. Hazmat teams in Sand Springs and Sapulpa put their training to use Wednesday when a tanker truck began leaking hydrochloric acid.

The Turner Turnpike was shut down between Sapulpa and Kellyville for more than 5 hours. No one was hurt in the incident and hazmat officials say it was their training and teamwork that helped keep it under control.

12/14/2011 Related Story: Turner Turnpike Reopened, Sapulpa Evacuees Return Home After Chemical Spill

It's another day at the office for the Sapulpa Fire Department. Thursday was spent training to rescue someone from a burning house.

That's a far cry from Wednesday when a tanker truck carrying 4,500 gallons of hydrochloric acid began to leak.

"It can burn your skin, burn your eyes, so you really don't want it on you," said Sapulpa Assistant Fire Chief Gary Williams.

Sapulpa Fire got the call around 2:30 and shut down the Turner Turnpike in both directions. The Sapulpa and Sand Springs hazmat teams worked together to first see what was causing the leak.

They learned that the screws surrounding a valve on top of the tanker had become loose which allowed the dangerous chemical to escape.

"Hazmat has the potential to be catastrophic, fortunately this wasn't, and it was controllable. The substance was very dangerous but it was controllable," said Dean Cox, training officer.

News On 6 cameras watched as two different crews of hazmat team members worked on the tanker. A pair in yellow suits were on a recon team - that team wears its oxygen tank outside its protective suit.

Then two others came to the scene wearing orange suits. The team, from Sand Springs, fixed the leak and wore a protective suit that is much better at keeping out the deadly toxins.

"There's nothing that can get inside that suit if you don't rip it," Williams said.

Hazmat teams are only able to train for incidents like this once a year and officials with Sapulpa Fire say they can't remember the last time they had to respond to a similar chemical spill.

They're proud of how the hazmat teams from both Sand Springs and Sapulpa worked together, especially under such dangerous conditions.

"These guys risk their lives every day and when you go on a hazardous materials situation you up that risk greatly," Williams said.

Sapulpa Fire says it's hard to know exactly how much hydrochloric acid leaked into the air. The tanker truck was decontaminated before being towed away.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is investigating what caused the screws to come loose.