Firehouse.com

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Jan. 7--SEMINOLE -- A Seminole man died when a tanker truck exploded near Seminole Wednesday.

Seminole Assistant Fire Chief Bryant Baker said his department received a call just after 9 a.m.

LONGVIEW, Wash.

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A search is under way for a missing chemical plant employee in southwest Washington.

Firefighters were called to Equachlor at about 4:30 p.m. on Christmas Day after a report of the missing worker. A search of the plant led crews to believe that the missing person may have fallen into a large pile of salt and become buried.

Rescuers searched the salt pile and other areas of the plant but were unable to the employee.

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Dec. 20--PROVIDENCE -- A vigorous cleanup effort avoided what could have been a substantial oil spill on the city's East Side yesterday after the axle of a tank truck carrying 1,800 gallons of heating oil broke, dumping the truck on its side and poking holes in its tank.

"It's very confined," said Jill Eastman, an emergency response official with the state Department of Environmental Management. She said the cleanup limited the amount of oil spilled and kept what did spill from going far.

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Dec. 17--SPICER -- A truck carrying explosives overturned in a ditch Wednesday south of Spicer, closing Minnesota Highway 23 for hours.

The truck was carrying more than 18,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate and about half of it spilled onto the ground, St. Cloud Fire Capt. Glen Koshiol said.

St. Cloud Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team was called at 3:57 p.m. to stabilize a scene. The crash was reported around 3 p.m.