Heart Attack Sparks Harbor Fuel Spill

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BARNSTABLE, Mass. - A man suffered a fatal heart attack while refueling a ferry, resulting in a spill that dumped nearly 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel into Hyannis Harbor on Saturday morning, a Coast Guard official said.

Kurt Garland, 48, was gassing up the Grey Lady, a high-speed ferry operated by Hy-Line Cruises between Cape Cod and Nantucket, when he had a heart attack and died.

Chief Petty Officer David Gilbert said the fuel kept flowing, dumping an estimated 1,900 gallons into the harbor.

The harbor was closed and a containment boom was placed around the spill. Because of foggy weather, a Coast Guard vessel was stationed at the mouth of the harbor to keep other boats from entering.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=18&u=/ap/20041211/ap_on_re_us/harbor_spill

[bahrbearian]

1. I've fueled large vessels for a long time in Alaska

and I never for the life of me could understand why they never had shut off valves on the nossel's like at the gas station. We would have to tie the handels up to keep the fuel flowing, and put our hand's in our pockets to keep warm.