Fiery Maryland tanker truck crash causes massive explosion on

I saw gas truck catch on fire immediately after hitting car that pulled onto road right in front it. I will never haul gas. Did Chem tank and loved it. But I ll eat from dumpsters before I haul gasoline

 

One driver I met who hauled gasoline called it "riding the bomb!" Like Slim Pickens in that 'DR. STRANGELOVE' flick...

 

Sad thing is the def system probably caught fire due to the crash causing the explosion.

 

Have a new tanker yanker applicant look at this. They don't call them "suicide jockies" for nothing.
Now, gas tanker crashes are EXTREMELY rare, considering how much fuel moves across this country. I read, in 2017, Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe compiled a report, there were 5,733 crashes involving takers, yet less than 2% were carrying hazardous cargo. That's a pretty good record,,for gas haulers. Water and milk, not so much. Video aside, I still think we have the best tanker-yankers in the world. I hauled One(1) load of gasoline in my life. I was squeezing the color out of the steering wheel. It clearly wasn't for me.

 

I used to haul Class 3 Flammable Liquids, but they were industrial solvents drummed up and palletized, then forked into a dry box. Xylene & toluene come to mind, they are solvents used to clean equipment in factories. Still flammable, but considerably safer to haul as there's no surge... we also hauled Class 4 Flammable Solids for that outfit, they were mostly cotton swatches or rags used to wipe up the solvents, then boxed up and palletized for shipment to registered treatment facilities across the country. Dunno why there was no spontaneous combustion with the Class 4, maybe they mixed some material in with the rags in the lined boxes. Never had any kind of fire in the wagons, so that's a plus...

The other loads I hauled for that outfit were Class 9 lead solder waste, those were my favorite because I'd run from San Diego to Western PA (Altoona & Ellwood City), then deadhead back, stopping at my brother's house near Lake of the Ozarks for my restart on the way home. Good times... and those lead solder waste loads were heavy, a definite plus during winter when the roads iced up, lol.

 

Major incident in Frederick, Maryland on Route 15 near Rosemont Avenue. Tractor trailer fuel tanker went off the roadway and struck a tree. Subsequent explosion and fire, with fuel spillage. Numerous adjacent homes, cars, and brush reported to be on fire. Potential for significant spill of gasoline into storm drains, sewers and a nearby creek. Smoke plume can be seen throughout Frederick County and the surrounding area.

Wind advisory in effect for Frederick, with gusts up to 50mph possible.

***Photos shared from publicly posted Facebook sources by unknown photographers***

Approx 1204hrs: Numerous 911 calls reporting incident.

1207: Second alarm transmitted on arrival. Command reporting tractor trailer on fire with explosion, and several homes, cars, and brush adjacent to incident on fire.

1210: Primary searches in progress for potential accident victims and occupants of the homes, which were negative (except for the truck driver). Later it was confirmed all occupants were accounted for.

1211: Additional Hazmat units from surrounding counties requested. Additional foam resources from FCDFRS also requested.

1214: Requesting brush trucks for several patches of nearby brush on fire. Note that a wind advisory is in effect, with gusts of 50 mph possible.

1234hrs: Requesting more foam units for gasoline possibly flowing into storm drains and sewers

1245: Multiple units at different scenes related to the incident asking for seperate radio channels. Dispatch advising numerous radio channels in operation, not enough dispatchers for more radio channels. Other incidents in Frederick also ongoing simultaneously, including a water rescue with an occupied car into the river getting pushed downstream near Point of Rocks, for which Trooper 3 (Maryland State Police Helicopter) was requested.

1256: Command advising tanker fire is knocked down. Significant potential for run off of gasoline into nearby storm drains, sewer system and towards a nearby creek. Requesting several excavators, vacum trucks and sand trucks from the city DPW.

1257: More foam units being requested, including ARFF's from local airports. (Including Hagerstown and Raven Rock)

1320: Hundreds of gallons of foam enroute from Frederick Fire's Logistics facility, as well as Carroll County and Williamsport Volunteer Fire.

1326: Red Cross enroute for numerous displaced residents.

1404: Units beginning to be released from surrounding fires. Haz Mat operations related to the gasoline spill are continuing. State DEP on scene.

1407: Frederick County (MD) Fire & Rescue will hold a press conference at 1500 hrs at the Public Safety Training Center. Coverage can be found on The Frederick Scanner FB page.

1417: 4 Engines and additional units to stage at Frederick Station 4 for metering operations along and adjacent to the Carroll Creek.

1418: Rosemont Avenue being reopened to traffic.

1429: Route 15 Southbound being completely reopened.

1432: Command reporting at least 3 houses affected by the fire.

1436: Heavy wrecker on scene to recover tractor once investigation is complete.

1446: Foam units being held until the tanker trailer is recovered.

1448: Command requesting bathroom trailer to the scene

1458: Press conference pushed back to 15:15. Watch live on The Frederick Scanner FB page.

1522: Per press conference, truck driver passed away in the accident.

15:23 State DEP reporting all hazardous materials contained. No gasoline breached the sanitary sewers or reached Carroll Creek, however some got into the storm drain system. No public health concern at this time.

1523: Frederick County DFRS reporting all foam used is environmentally friendly.

1530: Route 15 Northbound will be closed for an extended period due to the investigation and clean up, several city side streets closed to support operations.

1532 Per press conference, 1 house with significant damage, 2 with superficial damage.

1552: Tanker was carrying over 6,800 gallons of fuel, most likely gasoline.

Numerous units from surrounding counties and states (Pennsylvania-Franklin County and Virginia-Loudoun County) operated or relocated.

Listen live: The Frederick Scanner

Please follow The Frederick Scanner for 24/7 coverage of Frederick County incidents.

***Photos shared from publicly posted Facebook sources by unknown photographers***