1,000 evacuated after tanker truck crash in Kane

August 29, 2012

By

Ted Lutz

Photo by Michelle Palmer â€“ An estimated 1,000 Kane residents were evacuated Wednesday after a tanker truck loaded with butane rolled on its side near Greeves and Fraley streets. 

An estimated 1,000 Kane residents were evacuated Wednesday after a tanker truck loaded with butane rolled on its side near Greeves and Fraley streets. 
Bruce Manning, director of the McKean County Emergency Management Agency (EMA), said the tanker from the Elkhorn Propane Company of Warren carried 8,400 gallons of "liquid butane under pressure." 
He said the evacuation was necessary as a safety precaution before tedious work began to transfer the butane to a Crossett tanker. 
The evacuation began shortly after the accident at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday.  Nearly 12 hours later, evacuees were allowed to return to their homes. 
Kane Police Officer Bill Nichols was the first to respond to the scene.  He said the tanker driver-- Jon Turner of Warren-- was able to escape from the overturned truck without injury. 
The evacuation covered about a half-mile radius between Laurel Avenue on the south, Park Avenue on the west, Haines Street on the north and Hacker Street on the east. 
Volunteer firefighters went door-to-door, often arousing sleeping residents to advise them of the mandatory evacuation. 
For the most part, the evacuation took place without incident, according to officials on the scene. 
"Some citizens didn't want to leave their homes," Nichols said. " But there were no major problems."