COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Crews found gallons of fuel oil leaking into Alum Creek Sunday, and EPA officials are investigating the source.
NBC 4 reported with the FAST FACTS from local officials.
Columbus fire officials say some residents in the area smelled something out of the ordinary Sunday night in the area of Livingston and College avenues.
When crews arrived on scene, they found what appeared to be fuel oil leaking into Alum Creek from a drainage pipe.
Columbus fire originally thought the leak was originating from an Exxon station at East Livingston Avenue and Interstate 70. That wasn't the origination point, though.
The Environmental Protection Agency confirmed it was fuel oil later Monday.
Officials called it a substantial spill.
A hazmat crew was able to dam up the area and stop further contamination but not before some of the oil made it a mile or so down river to state Route 104.
"It's going to be a significant cleanup effort," says Columbus Division of Fire Battalion Chief David Whiting. "They'll have a vacuum truck come here. They're talking about putting a couple boats in the water to start cleaning up down there. So it's going to be a significant cleanup problem for them."
The EPA was called to the scene to assist with the cleanup.
According to Mike Dolan from the EPA, Capital University called in Monday morning after hearing reports of the spill in Alum Creek to report that they had a leak on Sunday. Capital thought the leak may have come from the university.
However, after an inventory was conducted, Capital found that they lost 30 to 40 gallons of heating oil.
The EPA said that crews cleaned up hundreds of gallons from the pill. Dolan said the size of the pipe that broke was very small and the leak was discovered quickly after the rupture.
As a result, the EPA said the source could not be Capital University because of the quantity that was cleaned up in Alum Creek.
"This doesn't look like Capital at all. In fact, I'm 99 percent sure it's not. They did the right thing by calling us," Dolan said.
A Columbus firefighter suffered a leg injury while trying to locate the source of the spill. He was taken to Grant Medical Center for evaluation.
Columbus Division of Fire Battalion Chief David Whiting said the fuel doesn't present a hazard to people.
The EPA said cleanup was near completion at 1 p.m. Monday.
The EPA is still investigating.
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