BLADENSBURG — A volunteer firefighter noticed smoke coming from the area of Ohio 541 and McAment Road on Friday afternoon, and alerted fire personnel in time for them to extinguish the fire before it grew too far out of control.
Bladensburg Fire Lt. Tish Mahar called in the fire and went directly to the scene, where approximately 100 to 200 gallons of oil were burning in a ditch.
According to Capt. Shawn Coontz, the property owners were attempting to move oil storage tanks to a new location and they had removed some of the oil from the tanks.
“They had dug a trench to catch the oil and ignite it to burn it off,” Coontz explained. “I think there was just more in the tank than they anticipated.”
According to Coontz, eight firefighters responded and were able to extinguish the fire using approximately 300 gallons of water.
“We had a really good response out of the station, and were able to put the fire out quickly,” said Coontz.
Knox County Emergency Management Agency Director Brian Hess was notified of the situation and reported to the scene, according to Coontz.
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