Truck Hauling 40,000 Pounds Of Frank’s RedHot Springs Leak On Ohio Highway

A vibrant, red-orange mystery substance leaking from a tractor-trailer along an Ohio highway wasn’t a hazardous material in the traditional sense, as it turned out to be a load of Frank’s RedHot sauce, officials said.

The BSTG Fire District — which serves Berkshire, Sunbury, Trenton and Galena — said crews were called to Interstate 71 on June 30 for a report of a northbound semi truck leaking “something” along the road in Delaware County.

“Our crews were out on the highway trying to track it down and actually were able to follow the trail,” Fire Chief Chris Kovach told the Columbus Dispatch.

The truck driver eventually realized the cargo was leaking and pulled over into a truck stop. There, fire crews determined the “mystery fluid” was the truck’s load of 40,000 pounds of Frank’s RedHot.

“This is one of those careers where you never know what you’re going to encounter,” the fire district wrote alongside photos on Facebook.

While Frank’s RedHot is a tasty condiment and not a toxic chemical, it nevertheless has an acid content high enough that it couldn’t simply be washed away into storm drains.

Fire crews had to call the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to respond. Crews deployed hazmat materials to contain the hot sauce and keep it from entering water drains.

Kovach told the Dispatch that the trucking company will have to arrange for a proper spill cleanup.

“A lot of people were shocked, and obviously they see a humorous side of it, but on the flip side of that is, there are some cars, a lot of vehicles that may have potentially been damaged,” Kovach told the outlet. “My understanding is this is very hard to clean off.”