Shortly before 1pm on Thursday March 27th, a tractor trailer driver ran his truck over the side of the road into a drainage ditch in the Okolona Fire Protection District. The driver did not slow down while exiting Interstate 65 north bound on the ramp to the Gene Snyder Freeway. The trailer was carrying vehicle batteries and batter acid. Members from Okolona Fire Department first responded to the scene. The incident commander, along with a representative from Jefferson County EMS Disaster Response Team, declared a level 2 hazmat incident.
The entry teams donned their equipment and first metered the area for leakage from the cargo. The joint command team decided to remove the trailer from the tractor, using a heavy machinery wrecker, and haul the trailer to the roadway first. The entry team returned to the cab and attached the tow chains to the trailer. Command staff was concerned that the acid might mix with any diesel fuel that might leak from the saddle tanks.
The entire operation took more the 8 hours for crews to mitigate the hazards and open the off ramp to traffic.
