Crime & Safety

Tanker Leak Sprays Cars, Closes Busy Street Next to UC Building

Several vehicles were sprayed with diesel fuel and a block of busy Hearst Avenue in Berkeley was closed Wednesday afternoon after a tanker sprang a leak next to UC Berkeley's Energy Biosciences Building.

A sudden leak of diesel fuel from a tanker truck sprayed several vehicles and forced the closure of a Berkeley thoroughfare, Hearst Avenue, next to UC Berkeley's relatively new Energy Biosciences Building on Wednesday afternoon, fire officials said.

A tanker truck supplying fuel to a generator at the building sprang a leak around 3:30 p.m., said Berkeley Assistant Fire Chief Aaron Lee.

The private tanker from Golden Gate Petroleum leaked about 65 gallons of diesel, Lee said. The fuel sprayed about 65 feet from the vehicle, he said.

"It sprayed several autos as well," he said. The fire department received complaints from some of the vehicle owners.

Spill responders, including private contractors working for Golden Gate Petroleum, cleaned up the spill and prevented any of it from getting into the storm drain, Lee said.

Several UC campus buildings were switched to generator power this week following Monday's black-out, explosion and fire that damaged the campus power grid. Campus spokesman Dan Mogulof said he had no information that the generator at the Energy Biosciences Building, which sits across Oxford Street from the main campus, was affected by the power outage.

Patch has requested information from Golden Gate Petroleum.

Published Oct. 2, 2013, 11:29 p.m.; updated Oct. 3, 10:17 a.m.

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