PARIS — A trash collection truck ripped open one of its fuel tanks on a fire hydrant on Route 26 near Moore Park at 10:15 a.m. Monday, spilling all 55 gallons of diesel fuel onto the highway and backing up traffic.

There were no injuries, Capt. Mark Blacquiere of the Paris Fire Department said traffic would be unable to pass until the Maine Department of Environmental Protection arrived to assess the scene. 

Paris and Norway police redirected traffic from Market Square, up High Street and down Porter Street, according to Paris police officer William Cook, who was at the scene.

Randy Scott of Norway was attempting a right turn in the ABC Rubbish trash collection truck from the driveway at 31 Park St. when he sideswiped the fire hydrant at the corner of the driveway. Scott said he has been driving for the company for about 10 years and has pulled out of that driveway hundreds of times without incident. He’s unsure what went wrong this time. 

The hydrant ripped open the passenger side fuel tank on the truck, dumping the contents onto the road. The fuel leaked into a manhole cover and infiltrated the town’s sewer system. 

A Norway sand truck was driving by the scene and stopped to fill the sewer hole with sand to contain the spill, Blacquiere said. 

“We threw down hazmat pads and containment booms to catch the rest,” he said. 

DEP workers were coming from Ogunquit with a vacuum truck to pump out the nearby catch basins. Blacquiere said there was no risk to the public from the incident.  

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