A fuel truck caught fire at East Hampton Airport during a safety test on Thursday, briefly closing the airport.
At around 2 p.m. the truck, operated by Sound Aircraft Services, caught fire during what was described in a statement from Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez's office as a routine annual meter inspection by New York State Weights and Measures technicians, and involved the transfer of 100-octane aviation gasoline between internal tanks on the truck. Three officers from the fire marshal's office responded to the scene within minutes.
The Weights and Measures Division, an agency within the Department of Agriculture and Markets, oversees the calibration and accuracy of fuel-dispensing systems, including those used for aviation fuel at airports, to ensure compliance with state standards and consumer protection laws.
As testing concluded and fuel was being returned to the tank, vapors emitted from the truck were ignited by a spark caused by static electricity, according to the statement from the town.
Technicians onsite extinguished the flames using a dry-chemical extinguisher. East Hampton Fire Department firefighters arrived within 15 minutes and cooled the tank with water. There were no injuries, no fuel was spilled, and the fire remained fully contained to the truck's tank, according to the statement from Town Hall. Water entered the tank during cooling efforts, however, and the fuel was contaminated. It will be removed and disposed of at a certified environmental treatment facility, the statement said.
The airport was closed via Federal Aviation Administration Notice to Air Missions, or NOTAM, and reopened after about one hour. A second such notice was issued indicating that 100-octane aviation gasoline is unavailable at the airport for the time being.
