It certainly wasn’t your average big rig accident.
An 18-wheeler overturned near the corner of Ga. 49 and Allen Memorial Drive late last week and quickly began leaking ammonium nitrate, a liquid used for blasting. To compound matters, also on board were 12 blasting caps and boosters.
First responders arrived en masse, and everyone within one-third of a mile was asked to evacuate their homes.
This is when the Baldwin County Fire Rescue’s training kicked in. All firetrucks are required to carry an emergency materials guidebook, while the BCFR also uses the CAMEO software, which acts as a computer guide for first responders and HazMat units during emergencies.
“We were able to safely remove the boosters and blast caps. They were in cabinets,” said Deputy Chief Bradley Towe.
At that point, it was time for the tow truck to return the big rig to an uptight position, slow and steady. Old Capitol Towing used a system of long rigging slings and a winch.
Towe said he didn’t know where the big rig was headed, but he did say that “trucks containing this combination of materials are usually related to quarry operations.”
Meanwhile, within the last week, the BCFR responded to a pair of structure fires. On Linton Road, someone was burning yard waste before the fire got out of control. Eventually burned was a camper and 16 acres of woods.
Also, a home on Jacqueline Terrace sustained significant damage after a fire started in the kitchen. The BCFR assisted the Milledgeville Fire Department. No one was injured, including the dogs and pigs who were inside when the blaze began. Why pigs were inside the house, Towe said that he wasn’t sure. Jacqueline Terrace is located off of North Columbia Street and near the Harbor Freight/Ollie’s shopping center.