Oil spill leaves 'a real mess' in basement

By Dan Atkinson
Staff writer

December 03, 2008 12:15 am

—

WEST NEWBURY — At least 250 gallons of heating oil filled the basement of a Bridge Road house yesterday after a refueling went awry.

One of the people who rent the house at 12 Bridge St. came home about noon to the smell of oil in his basement, and the Fire Department discovered a rupture in the heating oil tank, Chief Rock Dower said.

Dower said officials were still investigating whether the tank had already split or if it were over-pressurized by a refueling earlier in the day.

"It's a real mess," Dower said. "I hate to think what the cost of getting it out will be."

Firefighters filled a 55-gallon drum with oil from the basement and used absorbent pads and SpeedyDry to soak up some liquid, but property owner Mark Bilodeaux had to call the hazardous waste removal firm Enpro to take control of the leakage.

An Enpro spokesman was not available for comment about oil removal procedure.