Gasoline tanker crash cleanup costs Saugus $85G

SAUGUS – Saugus Town Manager Andrew Bisignani said the July 23 gasoline tanker crash and explosion cost the town around $85,000 to respond to.He said most of the fire, police and public works departments worked through the early morning hours to contain the blaze and clean up the ensuing mess after the fire spread down Essex Street and set homes and trees on fire.”I thought it was going to be more,” said Bisignani. “We filed a claim with the insurance company and the insurance company is liable. We sent it over today and should hear back promptly.”More than 22 fire departments from the surrounding area responded to the fire, which took the life of 59-year-old truck driver Neal Michaud and injured three other people.State Police are still investigating what caused Michaud to crash his truck and estimated it would take another six to eight weeks to complete.State police, emergency management and a special foam truck from Logan Airport also responded to the accident and crews from the Department of Transportation worked through the weekend to repave the northbound lane near the Essex Street overpass.”They have to pay regular time plus overtime,” said Bisignani of the response to the explosion. “They have to pay that and some of the equipment was destroyed. You’re dragging hoses through all that oil. They’re not much good after that.”A Saugus Police cruiser was also heavily damaged when a car slammed into it as the officer redirected traffic.While Route 1 was finally reopened the next day, the state Department of Environmental Protection stepped in that Monday to clean out Penny Brook and remove any remaining gasoline.”We’re assessing the environmental impact,” said Bisignani. “But from what we were told from the DEP, there weren’t really any environmental issues.”DEP spokesman Joe Ferson said the cleanup process is going as planned as most of the gas was burned off in the fire. Cleaning crews reclaimed the remaining gas by excavated the surrounding soil and laying down booms in Penny Brook.”There was still nothing coming out of the storm drain other than what’s been flushed out,” said Ferson. “The boom will remain in place for another week or so as a precaution, but there hasn’t been any change. There hasn’t been any surprises or anything.”Bisignani said he wanted to look into transportation policies after the crash, but on Friday said it’s too soon to make any decisions.”I called for a review of the policies, but what can you do?” said Bisignani. “You can’t keep them off the roads.”