At approximately 6:53 AM on Tuesday, May 29, 2018, the Central Dakota Communications Center received a report of fuel spill in a parking lot at the 900 block of East Main Street. The Bismarck Fire Department was dispatched to investigate.
The first arriving fire crew reported a semi-truck with a semi-detached fuel tank in the parking lot. The driver of the truck stated that a 100 gallon saddle bag fuel tank had become detached while the truck was driving on Main Street. When the damage was noticed the driver pulled off of the road into the nearest parking lot to investigate.
The fire crew found that approximately 35 gallons of diesel fuel had spilled from the tank and had pooled on the parking lot. The fire crew deployed dry sweep creating a dike to contain the fuel spill and prevent the fuel from spreading to the City’s storm water system. Fire crews then pumped the remaining fuel out of the damaged tank into containment drums.
Additional fire units arrived on scene and assisted with the spill containment operation. Four fire department apparatus and 10 firefighters were dispatched to the scene. Bismarck Police Department assisted with scene control. A private contractor was called to the scene to conduct a cleanup operation. The Environmental Health Division was called to the scene to observe the cleanup operation.
Damage caused by the diesel fuel spill was limited to a section of the asphalt parking lot. Business in the affected parking lot remain open for business. None of the spilled fuel spread beyond the parking lot or into the City’s storm water system.