General News
9 May, 2025
Incident causes highway closure
EMERGENCY services responded to a hydrochloric acid spill in Camperdown on Thursday morning.
Four Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Victoria Police units were called to the Princes Highway near Apex Park at around 9.44am.
A 50-metre exclusion zone was established, with traffic redirected around the incident while crews worked.
CFA District Six commander Rob McVey said responding crews identified hydrochloric acid – which is used as a pool cleaning acid – had spilled from a load being carried by a truck.
“It was initially identified by the truck driver, who called the CFA,” he said.
“Fortunately, the leaking container was only about 15L of the product.
“CFA crews worked to ensure the scene was made safe by working with Victoria Police to establish an exclusion zone to isolate the area while our partner agency Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) responded with special hazardous material appliances out of Lara.
“On their arrival, FRV and CFA crews worked to identify the container, worked to secure it and they were able to neutralise the hydrochloric acid. We were able make the area safe.
“It was a prolonged incident because the crews had to wear chemical suits and breathing apparatus in order to safely remove the product, and it also involved having to unload the truck to get to the compromised container.”
Crews remained on scene until after lunch, with the incident declared concluded at around 1.30pm.
Mr McVey thanked the community for their patience and also extended his gratitude to attending agencies, which included Victoria Police, CFA, FRV and Ambulance Victoria.
“We want to thank the community for their compliance – we understand when we close a road like that, it has an impact on the community,” he said.
“We thank them for their support that enabled us to bring the incident to a safe resolution.”
Read More: Camperdown