AL Firefighter Hospitalized after Lye Truck Overturns

June 28, 2019

The hazmat spill involving an 18-wheeler shut down parts of Interstate 65 in Birmingham, and a firefighter exposed to the spill was sent to the hospital as a precaution.

By Howard Koplowitz

Source Alabama Media Group, Birmingham

Firefighters responded to a hazardous materials spill late Thursday after an 18-wheeler carrying lye overturned on Interstate 65 in Birmingham, AL.

A hazmat spill Thursday night has closed all lanes of I-65 in both directions in Birmingham, according to fire and transportation officials, and the northbound lanes were reopened by early Friday.

An 18-wheeler containing lye overturned on the highway near the Green Springs Avenue exit on I-65 southbound around 6 p.m., said Birmingham Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Sebastian Carillo.

One firefighter “has been transported as a precaution due to exposure to the hazardous material,” Carillo said.

The battalion chief said I-65 could be closed for “several hours.”

Traffic is being rerouted to University Boulevard and 6th Avenue South, police told WVTM.

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