Fire, hazmat crews keep large gasoline spill out of Lake Arlington

Gasoline from a large spill at an Arlington Heights gas station early this morning leaked into nearby McDonald Creek, but firefighters and hazardous materials crews managed to prevent it from spreading downstream to Lake Arlington, an official said.

Authorities blamed the spill on a pump left running overnight at the Citgo gas station at Palatine Road and Windsor Drive, on the village's northeast side.

A passer-by spotted the leak shortly before 5:45 a.m., Arlington Heights Deputy Fire Chief Pete Ahlman said.

“He hit the emergency shut off to stop the leak, which was very helpful,” Ahlman said.

It was not known how long the pump had been running, but preliminary estimates indicate as much as 80 gallons of gasoline poured out of the pump before it was turned off, Ahlman said. The cause of the spill remains undetermined, and Arlington Heights police had not been called to investigate whether something criminal occurred.

Besides Arlington Heights firefighters, workers from the Environmental Protection Agency, Illinois State Fire Marshal and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District were called to the scene to assess the damage and stop the flow of gasoline.

Ahlman said crews used absorbent material to clean up the spill, cleared nearby catch basins, and deployed absorbent pads called “booms” into McDonald Creek to soak up gasoline and prevent its flow downstream.

“We deploy them in stages, so the first boom soaks up some of the gas, the next boom gets more, and so on,” he said. “It was very successful, and we're very happy with the result.”

One lane of traffic on the frontage portion of eastbound Palatine Road was closed during the cleanup, but traffic otherwise was not blocked or rerouted. Ahlman estimated that crews will remain on the scene until early this afternoon.