The Sturgeon Bay Fire Department responded to the report of a significant gas spill at the west side Marathon station Monday afternoon. Fire Chief Tim Dietman estimated that 25 gallons of fuel hit the pavement after the gas hose malfunctioned. Dietman says a woman started pumping gas and went inside her van to stay warm. Meanwhile, the gas kept flowing after her tank was full. Another patron saw the gas spilling out and grabbed the hose, but it couldn’t be shut down. Initially, the fire department sent two trucks and four firefighters to clean up the spill. They were joined by the chief and assistant chief. The pumps were shut down and absorbent material used to sop of the gas. Chief Dietman says the incident is a good example of why there’s a sign on the pumps saying not to leave them unattended when pumping gas. He says it doesn’t take much to ignite gasoline vapors, so there was a dangerous aspect to the spill. The initial call came in at 1:20PM and the fire crews left the scene about an hour and a half later.
