Gas tanker catches fire near Fort Worth gas station after crash, firefighters say

A gas tanker caught on fire early Sunday morning after a crash near a fuel station, the Fort Worth Fire Department said.

Officers said it happened around 1 a.m. along Trinity Boulevard, just off of Texas 360. The crash involved the tanker and another car; however, police said power lines were knocked down in the process, leading to the fire.

Crews said the tanker driver did everything he could to keep the gas from draining into the parking lot of the nearby Valero station when the fire happened. However, he was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

The scene was deemed a Level 2 hazardous materials incident by officials, according to the department. As the fire burned on for hours, crews sprayed water on the tanker to keep it cool. An environmental unit and an aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) truck from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport were called in to help, with the ARFF truck providing foam. Sand trucks were also requested to help with building dams to catch the fuel runoff.

Fort Worth Fire said the truck is believed to have carried about 9,000 gallons of fuel at the time.

Crews left the scene around 7 a.m. after putting out the fire and helping with the cleanup.