RVC FD Handles Methanol Spill on Maine Avenue

A 55-gallon metal drum filled with methanol was found leaking on Maine Avenue west of Peninsula Boulevard in Rockville Centre on Tuesday night, officials said.

Methanol can be used as a wood softener or in certain types of fuels.

According to officials, Rockville Centre and Lakeview firefighters responded to the scene of the spill around 7:30 p.m. The drum was unmarked, and fire officials said the fluid was "so potent that it deteriorated a portion of the roadway and instantly killed the vegetation that touched it."

Rockville Centre Police are investigating the spill as illegal dumping.

Malverne-West Hempstead Editor Tara Conry, Lou Minutoli and RVC Trustee Ed Oppenheimer contributed to this story.