FIREFIGHTERS QUICKLY CLEAN UP DOWNTOWN OIL SPILL

A small hydraulic fluid spill near the corner of Main and Themis streets was not immediately recognized as a hazard this morning, then was cleaned up without becoming one.

Cape Girardeau Fire Department training officer Mark Hasheider said the spill, which was spread in a thin sheen over a three-block area, was probably caused when a hydraulic line on a garbage truck opened up and dumped a slick 10-weight oil onto the road. No one notified the fire department and firefighters noticed the spill around 10:30 a.m. They worked until 1 p.m. to soak up the material.

Hasheider said firefighters used peat moss to absorb the oil that had pooled, mainly on the 200 block of Themis sy Spanish Street, then layered the area with sawdust to absorb as much as they could of what remained. Sand was left behind on the area to provide additional traction.

Hasheider said the department would return to the area Friday to determine if further cleanup is necessary.

The slippery oil could have presented a driving hazard. And while cars did spread the oil over a wide area, no accidents occurred as a result of the spill. Hasheider said the oil shouldn't cause damage to either the tires or paint of vehicles that had passed through it.

"Anything that gets on a vehicle that's not supposed to be there could cause some damage," he said. "But this is not acid based, and it was such a small amount that there shouldn't be any damage caused by it."