Buffalo Wing Sauce Spill Dispatches Haz-Mat Team, Threatens Superbowl Party

[TXCharlie]

That must be some spicy sauce to need the Haz-Mat team


Video: Massive Buffalo wing sauce spill shuts down Fairfield street - NewsTimes.com

Video: Massive Buffalo wing sauce spill shuts down Fairfield street

By GENEVIEVE REILLY
Staff writer
Updated: 01/26/2009 07:49:08 PM EST



A massive ()spill of Buffalo chicken wing sauce shut
down a Fairfield road in front of the famous Archie Moore's
restaurant Monday.

FAIRFIELD - Nobody was able to cross the road Monday afternoon in front of Archie Moore's restaurant after 200 gallons of chicken wing sauce spilled onto Sanford Street. The street was closed several hours after the 1:30 p.m. spill as the state Haz-mat team was dispatched to the scene.

Chicken wings are a signature item on the restaurant's menu and four large barrels of sauce for the spicy concoction were being delivered by Estes Express Line. As the truck driver was pushing a barrel toward the open truck door, it tipped over and spilled into the street, right in front of the restaurant.

"There's sauce everywhere," Perez said. "It's halfway across the street."
He said firefighters put a drying agent on the street's surface to keep the sauce from spreading as officials waited for the Haz-mat squad to arrive.

By late afternoon, the trucking company hired a cleaning crew to help with the mop up, but grease in the sauce combined with the cold made the operation difficult, said Dennis Schain, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Meanwhile, four patrons of Saint Tropez restaurant, next to Archie Moore's, couldn't get to their car, which was engulfed by sauce, Perez said. They asked Archie Moore's to pay for a car wash, but were referred to Estes Express Line.

"The trucking company was going to pay to have their car cleaned," said Mary Fleming, an employee at Archie Moore's, "so when I went back out to tell them that, they told me [Saint Tropez] had already given them the money."

Fleming said the restaurant's manager began making phone calls soon after the mishap to order more sauce. "That was four barrels we just lost," Fleming said. "We would need all of that sauce for Super Bowl Sunday."

[pgg]

What a waste. I like to DROWN my wings in buffalo sauce. My mouth is salivating just thinking about it now

[irishmick]

I'm not sure I'd want to eat their wings if they need a haz-mat team to clean up the sauce. Imagine what that would do to your stomach...

[Odd]

I'm not sure I'd want to eat their wings if they need a haz-mat team to clean up the sauce. Imagine what that would do to your stomach...

Sounds like an endorsement to me!

[Second Chance]

I'm not sure I'd want to eat their wings if they need a haz-mat team to clean up the sauce. Imagine what that would do to your stomach...

Yep I can see it now...............our sauce is so HOT we need a Haz Mat team to clean it up. Come on down for your free haz mat coupon.................

[Cidp24]

I bet that was a "sticky" situation!

[IndianaFuzz]

Anyone think this whole thing was a publicity stunt? There's no reason for a haz-mat team to be called in when they know the substance inside the barrel, and know that it's not hazardous. Who called in the haz-mat team anyway? That would be nice to know.

[Buttercup]

Too bad they didn't have a wing spill at the same time.


Maybe they called a haz-mat team because they were afraid the vinegar fumes would be toxic.

[jmur5074]

You should really call a hazmat team for any substance that doesn't belong in, on, or under the ground that leaks or spills out. We had a tanker truck overturn a few years ago and leaked about 200 gallons of milk. The hazmat team was called for that because the milk was leaking down a storm drain, which drains into the Mississippi River. That amount of milk ould cause a fish kill, or other damage to the animals in the water, or the water itself. Same could be true for buffalo sauce.

[Xiphos]

You should really call a hazmat team for any substance that doesn't belong in, on, or under the ground that leaks or spills out. We had a tanker truck overturn a few years ago and leaked about 200 gallons of milk. The hazmat team was called for that because the milk was leaking down a storm drain, which drains into the Mississippi River. That amount of milk ould cause a fish kill, or other damage to the animals in the water, or the water itself. Same could be true for buffalo sauce.

Exactly. Not to mention that sauce is probably caustic. A restaurant I knew of wouldn't leave spoons in it over night because of corrosion. Also in that amount it could create an irritating fume cloud that would affect customers at nearby businesses.

[Buttercup]

Exactly. Not to mention that sauce is probably caustic. A restaurant I knew of wouldn't leave spoons in it over night because of corrosion. Also in that amount it could create an irritating fume cloud that would affect customers at nearby businesses.

That's very true.

[TXCharlie]

It's probably not caustic, just mildly acidic. And that either comes from natural apple cider viniger or diluted acedic acid. I bet the worms & bacteria in the ground and water would devour that stuff in just a couple of weeks.

Of course the sugar and peppers in it are also quickly biodegradable, so I don't see why the fire department didn't just wash it down the sewer. The only thing in it that might be a problem is salt.

[Jks9199]

You should really call a hazmat team for any substance that doesn't belong in, on, or under the ground that leaks or spills out. We had a tanker truck overturn a few years ago and leaked about 200 gallons of milk. The hazmat team was called for that because the milk was leaking down a storm drain, which drains into the Mississippi River. That amount of milk ould cause a fish kill, or other damage to the animals in the water, or the water itself. Same could be true for buffalo sauce.

I think you've got the reason for the hazmat involvement right there, along with the sheer volume. You got literally gallons and gallons of pepper juice, butter, etc. being flushed into the storm drains if you just wash it away. I could see that being a problem...

[Wolven]

I'm not sure I'd want to eat their wings if they need a haz-mat team to clean up the sauce. Imagine what that would do to your stomach...

HHhhmmm...the hotter the better....my stomach is like a steel drum...handle all sorts of stuff and stay happy.

[jmur5074]

It's probably not caustic, just mildly acidic. And that either comes from natural apple cider viniger or diluted acedic acid. I bet the worms & bacteria in the ground and water would devour that stuff in just a couple of weeks.

Of course the sugar and peppers in it are also quickly biodegradable, so I don't see why the fire department didn't just wash it down the sewer. The only thing in it that might be a problem is salt.

Here's the deal Chuck. Peppers, butter, pepper juice, vinegar, salt, sugar, etc...none of that belongs in sewer drains. 200 gallons of that liquid won't be stopped by a filter or grate, it will wash right into the sewer system. Assuming it would go into a storm drain system, it will likely dump into a natural reservoir. Here, our storm drains dump into the Mississippi, with several grates along the way to stop any debris pieces (trash or whatever else may have washed into the sewer). Hot sauce isn't going to be stopped by a grate. It's going to flow right through the sewer into a lake, or ditch, or drainage area of some sort. Depending on what that water source it, it could cause fish kills, injure or kill animals, or even people.

At that point, or even before that point, it could soak into the ground. Do you have any idea what runs under ground?? I don't know jack about what is underground, but all of those "Call before you dig" commercials lead me to believe there are pipes, telephone lines, electrical lines, cable lines, etc, etc, etc down there. I don't want 200 gallons hot sauce absorbing into the ground above the pipes that take the shit and piss from my house. Or my electrical lines. It doesn't belong there and it can cause damage.

Also, consider all of the animals running around that could get into 200 gallons of hot sauce. Gophers, rabbits, snakes, squirrels, bajillions of different bugs, foxes, birds, etc, etc, etc would all surely die or become very sick from ingesting that, OR, eating another animal, or the carcass of an animal that ingested it.

I don't know about you, but I'd rather just be safe than sorry. I think you should probably leave the haz mat incidents to the professionals. I'm going to go off of my own experience dealing with haz mat incidents as a firefighter and a cop, and say they did the right thing in handling the incident and leave it at that.

[Jenna]

All this makes me really not want to eat buffalo wing sauce.

[TXCharlie]

So a pepper farmer who gets a freeze kill should call HazMat before he plows under his crop?

[jmur5074]

So a pepper farmer who gets a freeze kill should call HazMat before he plows under his crop?

A pepper in a field is different than 200 gallons of buffalo wing sauce in an urban area.

That's like comparing tomatoes and ketchup. Similar, but not the same.

[Pudge]

Here's the deal Chuck. Peppers, butter, pepper juice, vinegar, salt, sugar, etc...none of that belongs in sewer drains. 200 gallons of that liquid won't be stopped by a filter or grate, it will wash right into the sewer system. Assuming it would go into a storm drain system, it will likely dump into a natural reservoir. Here, our storm drains dump into the Mississippi, with several grates along the way to stop any debris pieces (trash or whatever else may have washed into the sewer). Hot sauce isn't going to be stopped by a grate. It's going to flow right through the sewer into a lake, or ditch, or drainage area of some sort. Depending on what that water source it, it could cause fish kills, injure or kill animals, or even people.

At that point, or even before that point, it could soak into the ground. Do you have any idea what runs under ground?? I don't know jack about what is underground, but all of those "Call before you dig" commercials lead me to believe there are pipes, telephone lines, electrical lines, cable lines, etc, etc, etc down there. I don't want 200 gallons hot sauce absorbing into the ground above the pipes that take the shit and piss from my house. Or my electrical lines. It doesn't belong there and it can cause damage.

Also, consider all of the animals running around that could get into 200 gallons of hot sauce. Gophers, rabbits, snakes, squirrels, bajillions of different bugs, foxes, birds, etc, etc, etc would all surely die or become very sick from ingesting that, OR, eating another animal, or the carcass of an animal that ingested it.

I don't know about you, but I'd rather just be safe than sorry. I think you should probably leave the haz mat incidents to the professionals. I'm going to go off of my own experience dealing with haz mat incidents as a firefighter and a cop, and say they did the right thing in handling the incident and leave it at that.

+1

In my hosedragger experience we broke out the dams and absorbent pads on anything that wasn't organic. Very well put, reps inbound.

[countybear]

Most of the popular 'hot' varieties of buffalo wing sauce use a margarine and cayenne pepper base.

I can demonstrate the irritating properties of cayenne pepper for you if you'd like, Chuckie...