AUSTIN — The Austin Fire Department responded to a HazMat task force and a Hi Rise alarm at 507 Sabine St. on Wednesday evening.
Crews were sent to investigate a smoke odor coming from an electrical vault in the basement. They also came across what appeared to be oil leaking from a pipe.
Units created a dike and began using equipment to keep the spilled substance from entering a storm water drain.
Primary and secondary searches of the basement of the building were completed by 5:40 p.m., during which crews found nothing.
The first two floors of the building were evacuated by crews.
Austin Energy tweeted that due to this fire call, power is out in several downtown buildings nearby.
The fire department identified the substance that had been spilled as mineral oil.
As of 6:02 p.m., an electrical crew had arrived on scene and confirmed that the mineral oil leak is from the failure in the electrical vault. Fire crews are escorting electrical personnel into the vault.
As of 6:35, Austin Energy crews had made access to the vault. They will be mitigating and evaluating the cause.
