Lake Havasu City Fire Department responded with a hazardous material team about 1:30 p.m. Monday after the employee of a service station at the intersection of North McCulloch Boulevard and Acoma Boulevard called 911 to report gasoline was spraying everywhere.

Jayne Hanson/News-Herald Photo Lake Havasu City Fire firefighters work to clean up a hazardous materials incident that occurred at a service station early Monday afternoon after gasoline was reportedly spraying everywhere.

The incident shut the pumps down for about two hours, but the Maverik Country Store remained open, according to service station employees Monday afternoon.

The service station employees were apparently “changing filters on the (gasoline) pump itself when something went wrong and gas was spraying everywhere,” said Battalion Chief Mike Quijada of Lake Havasu City Fire Department. “They hit the stop button but gas was still spraying everywhere,” he said.

The department’s Captain Carl Stello surveyed the scene upon arrival and reported to Battalion Chief Quijada about three gallons of gas was the extent of the gasoline on the ground and that his company would be able to handle the spill, according to Quijada.

The firefighters were on scene about 45 minutes and used kitty litter to absorb and contain the gasoline as well as suppress the vapors, the battalion chief said later Monday.

Fire Marshal Chip Shilosky made the decision to close the service station down until the management could clean up 3-5 gallons of gasoline that was held in a compartment beneath the pump, Quijada said.

The battalion chief explained the fire department’s responsibilities are to mitigate and contain the situation. It is up to the person or company that made the spill to clean up whatever is left.

The fire department’s Truck No. 1, Engine No. 5, battalion chief and fire marshal responded to clean up the scene.

Lake Havasu City Police Department responded with two units to provide traffic control.