Thousands of gallons of fuel spewed out of a car rental near LaGuardia Airport this morning with enough of it pouring into the local sewers to cause a nearby wastewater treatment plant to shut down, sources tell us. It all started earlier this morning when a gas pump at the Enterprise Rent-a-car across from the airport was damaged. Though the NYPD has yet to comment on the incident, we are told it is being treated as an act of vandalism.
A source tells us that 2,700 gallons of gasoline then poured out on the street and into the sidewalk this morning just before 5 a.m. (we've heard from other sources the number of gallons lost may be much higher). Worse, a portion of the fuel made its way into the sewer system and from there into the nearby Bowery Bay Wastewater Treatment plant. Luckily the system quickly detected the volatile substance and set off alarms. The plant was briefly evacuated but wastewater treatment continued, according to officials.
The FDNY soon flushed the sewer system by opening up fire hydrants and kept the remaining fuel in check with sandbags. Officials believe that 80 percent of the gasoline evaporated.
When we called the Enterprise for more information, an operator there told us "he really didn't know anything" but that the NYPD, the FDNY and National Gas were all on the scene investigating. His manager Melissa then picked up and told us only that "if we are releasing any statements we will, but not at this time."
