Vapor cloud in Kensington dissipates

Trains traveling through Kensington have returned to normal speeds after Montgomery County firefighters determined that vapors from a nearby gasoline spill Wednesday afternoon were dissipating quickly enough to pose no danger of igniting, a fire-rescue spokesman said.

Capt. Oscar Garcia, a spokesman for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, said transit agencies were asked to slow down trains using CSX tracks near Connecticut and Summit avenues around 3:30 p.m. because of concerns that a spark from the metal wheels on metal tracks at high speeds could ignite vapors from the gasoline spill at a nearby Getty station. By 4 p.m., fire officials determined that the vapors were dissipating, and trains were returned to normal speeds, he said.

No one was injured, and no one was evacuated beyond the Getty station, Garcia said. A gas station contractor will clean up the gasoline spill, estimated at 25 to 30 gallons, he said. The gas spilled when a tanker truck was dropping off its load.

-- Katherine Shaver