The Cape Breton Regional Fire Service called in a special fire truck from the JA Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport and sprayed with foam the approximately 600,000 liters of gas that leaked from a storage tank earlier in the day. “Right now, we’re working hand-in-hand with Imperial Oil and the airport with the airport response truck,” said Fire Chief Michael Seth. “We were able to get it on site and provide foam to minimize the effects of the fumes coming off the gas.” The fire department held an evening press briefing across from Imperial’s fuel storage facility. Meanwhile, the airport’s fire truck sprayed foam around the tanks and into the clay liner that surrounds them and contains the spill. A resident talks to police as they direct traffic away from the northern Sydney neighborhood due to a gas leak in the housing of the Imperial fuel tank. (Tom Ayers/CBC) Seth said one of those tanks had ruptured and about 600,000 liters of gas leaked out before the leak was contained. The fuel storage facility was evacuated along with about 60 homes nearby, between Des Barres and Ortona streets. No injuries were reported. The fire service earlier said it was fortunate the wind blew any fumes into Sydney Harbour. Seth said now that the fuel is covered with foam, there is less risk of fumes escaping into the environment or igniting. It will have to be reapplied as the foam breaks overnight, he said. It will be up to Imperial Oil to complete the cleanup. “The imminent danger has passed,” Seth said. Cape Breton Regional Fire Chief Michael Seth says the immediate danger has passed thanks to foam sprayed on the gas leak by a fire truck from JA Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport. (Tom Ayers/CBC) “They still have some significant cleanup to do and throughout that cleanup, there will still be some issues that they need to mitigate, but they’ll be able to mitigate that directly on site with their cleanup crew.” Earlier in the day, Imperial site supervisor Adam MacDonald said the company called in staff and equipment from its Dartmouth facility. He also said that it is not yet clear what exactly caused the leak. The chief said firefighters will remain on the scene throughout the night to ensure the safety of residents. “Thankfully, nothing major came of it and the fallout was minimal,” he said. “It’s just a bit of displacement and some inconvenience. With a spark it could have been catastrophic.” Cape Breton police are directing traffic three blocks away in the northern Sydney neighborhood due to a leaking Imperial Esso fuel tank casing. (Thomas Ayers/CBC) The facility includes large tanks containing bulk domestic heating oil, natural gas and diesel for Cape Breton Island. Seth said the provincial environment department had inspectors on site. Imperial spokeswoman Keri Scobie said the company is still working to determine what happened. In the meantime, he said, officials do not believe the spill will affect pumps in Cape Breton. “We are looking at the status of the offer,” he said. “We do not expect any impact on customers.” Scobie said company officials will meet Saturday morning and an update will be available sometime in the afternoon.
