While the oil slick floating toward the Louisiana coast grabs national and international headlines, here in Wareham we try to do things on a more local scale.

Thursday morning, a dump truck from Cavossa Disposal Corp. in East Falmouth was backing out of a narrow driveway on Main Street and clipped a concrete wall.  The fuel tank was ripped from the vehicle and began leaking oil.

"We're trying to minimize any further release by pumping the oil into jugs and safely transport it to a proper location," said Wareham Fire Chief Robert McDuffy.

But thankfully, the driveway was right across the street from the Wareham Fire Station - fortunate for the Fire Department, but perhaps a little embarassing for the dump truck's driver. The incident occurred at 10:56 a.m., right in the middle of roll call, and attracted a crowd of fire fighters who continued the fire-house banter as they sealed the mangled fuel tank with a special putty and then pumped the remaining fuel into jugs.

"We're going green," McDuffy quipped, abandoning his more official demeanor. "We're saving on fuel by bringing the incident to us."

Other firefighters raised questions of whether they would be made to recycle the recovered fuel in their own vehicles and/or receive praise for their "budget-conscious" response.

The driver, who declined to give his name, was slightly miffed by the incident - especially since the spill only released about two gallons of oil, according to McDuffy.

"It's a can where it ain't suppposed to be, it's going to go on the front page of the Wall St. Journal," said Cavossa Repairman Rob Hathaway who was called to the scene and, for his efforts connecting the driver with the press, may have been stuck with the bill for lunch.

"Hey, accidents happen," Hathaway said.