The Shenango Township patrolman injured by hydrochloric acid fumes Friday while responding to an accident said prior experience with dangerous chemicals helped him cope with the emergency.

Patrolman Robert David said his familiarity with toxic chemicals guided his rescue efforts when a flatbed truck carrying tanks of acid overturned on Interstate 80 near the Ohio line.

The acid immediately began reacting with water in the soil and in the air to form a toxic cloud of vapor.

During his 23 years at the former Sharon Steel Corp., David said, he worked around plenty of chemicals at the Farrell mill and had "hazmat" training in the handling of hazardous materials.

"Any training helps and in this situation it helped," he said.

David was the first rescuer to arrive after the 6:45 a.m. crash. Dispatchers from the 911 Center told him something was leaking from the truck but David he had no idea what it was.

"The information coming over was that something was leaking, but we weren't sure if it was smoke or vapors," David said from his hospital room Saturday prior to his release from UPMC Horizon, Farrell.

After stopping his cruiser at a safe distance from the spill, David said, he could feel a tingling sensation and knew that the spill posed a dangerous threat to anyone in the vicinity.

"You could feel it. It was a definite acid odor and a breeze was coming through the area. Even though the cloud was immediately around the truck it was dissipating in the region," he said.

An ambulance crew also kept a safe distance from the plume of vapor. While waiting for firefighters to arrive the ambulance crew blocked off the highway and set off flares.

Several other truck drivers who had pulled over to assist were nearly overcome by the stinging fumes, David said.

They were standing in the vapor cloud, coughing and choking, he said. One seemed delirious and complained of dizziness. David said he tried to avoid the cloud by using his cruiser to get the drivers away from it.

Meanwhile, curious onlookers stopped in the median to observe. David used a loudspeaker to order them back to their vehicles.

That's when he spotted truck driver, John M. Barnett, 30, of Conneaut Lake, walking around the wrecked truck holding a gash on his head.

"I waited for him to come further, then I grabbed him and brought him to the ambulance," David said

David, Barnett and a third driver whose name was not available all inhaled vapors and were taken to UPMC. Emergency medical technicians stripped off the men's clothes and firefighters hosed them with water in an effort to minimize their exposure to the acid vapor.

David said his doctor prescribed an aerosol inhaler and ordered him to take time off from work. In the meantime he'll have to replace his uniforms.

"The old ones have to be destroyed because of the toxins. They have to be replaced before I can work," he said.

The spill occurred when the truck blew a front tire causing two tanks to leak acid onto the median. About 30 homes on Wansack, Habarka and Hnida roads had to be evacuated. The spill also shut down I-80 for five hours causing a traffic nightmare for motorists.

David said drivers should recognize that when traffic is at a standstill, there's probably an emergency ahead and they should drive onto the berm to leave a lane open for emergency vehicles.