UPDATE: FD Clears Hydrochloric Acid Spill In Sanitation Truck

Mahwah Hazmat crews cleaned up a spill of hydrochloric acid in a sanitation truck on Seneca Road in Franklin Lakes, Mahwah Assistant Fire Chief Brad Stio said Tuesday afternoon.

"Sanitation crews did not know what the substance was at first," Stio said. Mahwah crews were called in to assist Franklin Lakes PD and fire crews.

“We got a call from a neighbor after a can in the truck exploded,” Lt. John Bakelaar said Tuesday morning. He called it a very small burst. Some of the liquid leaked onto the truck in what Bakelaar called “not a huge spill.”

One Gaeta recycling employee was treated on the scene after “some of the liquid spilled on him,” Bakelaar said. Another employee who was exposed to fumes refused medical treatment, he said.

Mahwah Hazmat crews removed the hydrochloric acid container from the truck, and it was transported and disposed of by county Hazmat crews, Stio said.

Mahwah Company 2 and 4 fire department crews assisted emergency responders from Franklin Lakes, Ramsey and Bergen County.