Iowa Oil Spill Hits Waterway – Created by Fire at Auto Body Shop

Trouble is bubbling in the form of black crude in Iowa: a fire at an auto body shop in Glenwood has caused quite a stir, and it's not just because of the flames. Nope, it's because the fire led to an unexpected oil spill, and now officials are hustling to keep our environment safe.

Here's the scoop: the fire broke out at Best Finish Auto Body around 4:30am on a Thursday morning, February 15th. Now, picture this: as the firefighters battled the blaze, some oil found its way into the storm drains. And where did it end up? Yep, you guessed it – Keg Creek, a nearby stream in southwest Iowa.

According to recent reports, they did some digging and found out that there were about 240 gallons of oil hanging out in the auto body shop when the fire started. That's a lot of oil! And get this: 120 gallons of it was used oil, with another 80 gallons each of transmission fluid and antifreeze.

Now, when something like this happens, you can bet that local fire and law enforcement teams, along with some environmental crews, got busy attempting to contain the spill. They threw down some sand berms near the storm drains to stop the oil from spreading any further.

But here's the kicker: despite all the hustle and bustle, some oil still made its way into Keg Creek. Now, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has spotted it about three miles downstream from the auto body shop. Luckily, they haven't found any fish kills yet, but it's got everyone on high alert and watching for changes in the condition of animal and plant life in the immediate area.

The Iowa DNR isn't taking this lightly, though. They've launched an investigation to figure out what went wrong and whether anyone dropped the ball on following the rules. If they find any slip-ups, you can bet there will be consequences.

Speaking of which, did you know there are rules about reporting this kind of stuff? If you're dealing with hazardous substances and there's an accident, you've got to tell the DNR and the local law enforcement pronto. If you do need to spill the beans about a spill of any kind? Give the DNR's emergency spill line a ring at (515) 725-8694. And if it's a biggie involving EPA-regulated stuff, you might have to dial up the National Response Center as well.

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As the cleanup crews get to work and the investigators do their thing, let's all remember the importance of looking out for our environment and doing our part to keep it safe and sound. After all, if we want our world to stay beautiful, it's going to take us all.