Full tank unearthed at fire

Item does not look like it leaked an oil-like substance, officials say.

By Jennifer Fitzenberger
The Fresno Bee

(Updated Tuesday, February 11, 2003, 7:29 AM)

Firefighters pulled a 6-foot-long tank filled with an oil-like substance from the Archie Crippen Excavation junk fire in southwest Fresno.

None of the substance appears to have leaked from the tank, found about 5 p.m. Sunday buried deep in the 25-foot-tall, 4.8-acre smoldering pile.

If it is oil, it could contaminate ground water if it spills, interim Fire Chief Joel Aranaz said. But the tank appears stable, he said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will test the substance this week. "We're kind of leery as to what it is until it's tested," Aranaz said.

The tank is one of several found in the pile of wood, asphalt, concrete, plastic, carpet, automobile parts and other debris. Crippen has said the pile mostly is wood.

Firefighters unearthed five boiler tanks and a 10,000-gallon tank late last week. They either were empty or filled with a gray or black granular substance, Aranaz said. The larger tank was about 15 feet into the pile.

Excavators hit the tank Sunday while gouging burning pieces of junk.

"When you hit metal, you can tell," Aranaz said.

He said it looked like a "torpedo filled with some sort of oil." Firefighters placed it on top of the pile alongside the other tanks.

Officials hope to have the fire contained this week, but it's tough to pinpoint an exact date because firefighters keep finding hidden hot spots. The fire has burned about a month.

The reporter can be reached at jfitzenberger@fresnobee.com or 441-6313.