Hazmat in Carpinteria
updated: Oct 21, 2012, 1:14 PM

By the Urban Hikers Peter Hartmann & Stacey Wright

On Saturday afternoon just after 3:30 pm Carpinteria/Summerland Fire received a call regarding a suspicious chemical container near the 101 on Via Real by Nidever Rd. As reported by Roger and in response to his request for follow-up, here are photos of the event, as well a few facts about the incident.

The reporting party was a man who happened to be riding his bicycle along that stretch of the road, when he saw a large plastic chemical container on its side. The man, a County employee who works with hazardous materials, stopped to investigate. He was concerned about possible leakage after he saw that the container was filled with an unknown substance. The container bore labeling that indicated it contained a dry cleaning fluid. The man subsequently called 9-1-1 to report what he had seen.

Carpinteria/Summerland Fire responded with one engine and a Battalion Chief. They found the container, which was leaking an unknown substance. Firefighters righted the container and secured it to the fence. The liquid, appeared to be something other than a dry cleaning chemical. Hazmat was called to identify the liquid.

The Hazmat truck from SB Fire Department arrived and firefighters in pink shirts alighted from the truck. They used a chemical ID kit to verify their suspicions that the liquid in the container was motor oil.

The County will take over in an attempt to determine where the oil came from and how it happened to wind up on the side of the road.

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