SPECIAL REPORT: Gasoline Tanker Rolls Over in Harwich Port

July 18, 2019

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HARWICH PORT – A tanker truck carrying gasoline rolled over on Route 39/Sisson Rd. in Harwich Port early Thursday morning, closing the road and knocking out power to surrounding neighborhoods.

The accident happened shortly after 4 a.m. in front of the Star Market. There was no immediate word on injuries to the driver.

Route 39 was shut down to all traffic between Gilbert Lane and Route 28 as emergency crews from across the area responded to the scene.

Local and state hazardous materials teams were on scene working to contain the gasoline and remove the truck. Fire department personnel from as far away as Wareham were responding.

A foam truck was standing by near the rolled over truck as a precaution.

It was expected to take several hours to clean up the area.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Update: About 3:30 PM officials reported all fuel had been offloaded and the tanker had been righted.

Harwich Fire Lt. Scott Tyldesley spoke with CWN’s Jake O’Callaghan:

Tanker rollover Harwich, MA 7/18/19 from Cape Wide News LLC on Vimeo.

7-18-19 Harwich gasoline rollover Lt Scott Tyldesley from Cape Wide News LLC on Vimeo.

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Statement from Harwich Fire: At 0350 this morning The Harwich Fire Department received a call for a fuel spill involving a tractor trailer fuel tanker. The first arriving companies found a tanker rollover directly in front of Shaw’s Supermarket on Sisson Road with an obvious and serious leak of gasoline. An immediate call for additional resources, a Hazmat Team activation and for the power company was made. The driver of the truck was evaluated and transported to Cape Cod Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

All in all more than 90 responders from over 20 different local, county, state and federal agencies took part in the on scene control and mitigation of the spill. The truck was reportedly carrying 11,500 gallons of fuel. At the time of this release it was estimated that 8,000 gallons of gasoline was recovered directly from the truck and another 2,000 gallons recovered from various catch basins and the tidal marsh the storm drains emptied in to. Additionally while units were committed to the incident, station coverage was provided by Yarmouth and Chatham.

Power to more than 200 properties was impacted until early this evening and area businesses were forced to close for the day. Sisson Road remains closed but is expected to be opened tonight.

Possible impact to the water supply and environmental contamination to the nearby marsh were being monitored closely by the Harwich Water Department and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. The cleanup will continue for quite some time and is being managed by Edge Environmental, a licensed site professional contracted by the owner of the fuel truck.