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At least 20 gallons of discarded cooking grease leaked from a storage container outside a local restaurant Thursday afternoon, leaving a slippery mess in the parking lot and nearby roadway.
The Shawnee Fire Department responded to Taco Bell, 4837 N. Kickapoo, just after 1 p.m. on what was reported as a diesel spill in the parking lot.
What they found wasn’t petroleum—it was grease.
Shawnee Fire Department Capt. Mark Wallace said a tank near the restaurant’s dumpsters that is made to specifically hold discarded grease from the restaurant somehow developed a leak and began flowing into the parking lot. Several vehicles in that area were rolling over the grease, which was slick, he said.
Wallace said firefighters closed off both south entrances to that Taco Bell, along with the outbound lane of a nearby divided roadway that leads to a stop light to access Kickapoo Street. The areas were blocked to keep cars from transferring the slick oil onto Kickapoo Street, which could have been a hazard.
Firefighters on the scene worked to contain the spill by using dams and diverting the oil to specific areas, Wallace said.
Once contained by fire crews, Taco Bell officials called an environmental clean-up crew to absorb the oil and wash the affected areas, which took most of the afternoon.
A restaurant manager said a customer notified employees about what started out as a slick puddle in the parking lot, then hazardous materials crews were called. While the incident did close off most entrances to the restaurant, some cars were able to use a back entrance to reach the store for service, the manager said.
The eatery didn’t have as much of a “lunch rush” as usual, the manager said, but the restaurant continued serving customers during the ordeal.
At least 20 gallons of discarded cooking grease leaked from a storage container outside a local restaurant Thursday afternoon, leaving a slippery mess in the parking lot and nearby roadway.
The Shawnee Fire Department responded to Taco Bell, 4837 N. Kickapoo, just after 1 p.m. on what was reported as a diesel spill in the parking lot.
What they found wasn’t petroleum—it was grease.
Shawnee Fire Department Capt. Mark Wallace said a tank near the restaurant’s dumpsters that is made to specifically hold discarded grease from the restaurant somehow developed a leak and began flowing into the parking lot. Several vehicles in that area were rolling over the grease, which was slick, he said.
Wallace said firefighters closed off both south entrances to that Taco Bell, along with the outbound lane of a nearby divided roadway that leads to a stop light to access Kickapoo Street. The areas were blocked to keep cars from transferring the slick oil onto Kickapoo Street, which could have been a hazard.
Firefighters on the scene worked to contain the spill by using dams and diverting the oil to specific areas, Wallace said.
Once contained by fire crews, Taco Bell officials called an environmental clean-up crew to absorb the oil and wash the affected areas, which took most of the afternoon.
A restaurant manager said a customer notified employees about what started out as a slick puddle in the parking lot, then hazardous materials crews were called. While the incident did close off most entrances to the restaurant, some cars were able to use a back entrance to reach the store for service, the manager said.
The eatery didn’t have as much of a “lunch rush” as usual, the manager said, but the restaurant continued serving customers during the ordeal.
