LEVANT – Officials blamed a buildup of ice for breaking a valve on a 5,000-gallon aboveground gasoline tank adjacent to Piper’s Country Store on Route 222 Wednesday, causing an estimated 200 gallons of the flammable fuel to leak out.

The leak was contained behind a bunker wall in which the tank was stored, minimizing what officials say could have been a very dangerous situation. Fire departments from Levant and Hermon responded.

Tim Vincent, a Levant volunteer firefighter, was overcome by fumes and sent by ambulance to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor shortly after the leak was discovered about 10:15 a.m.

Vincent reportedly had arrived at the scene in advance of the fire department and approached the leaking tank in an effort to help. He was treated at the hospital and later released, according to Kevin Peary, acting Levant fire chief.

Fire engines lined both sides of Route 222, also known as Union Street. The road was not blocked off, as it might have been had the explosion danger been higher, officials said. Tanker trucks from Dysart’s in Hermon were parked near the leaking tank, which spewed out approximately 2 gallons per second for a brief period of time, according to an official with the Department of Environmental Protection. The tank is one of two aboveground tanks feeding gasoline and diesel pumps in front of the store. A separate 5,000-gallon tank holding diesel fuel did not leak.

A call was made to the area hazmat team in Orono but later was cancelled.

A crew from Dysart’s was busy pumping the remainder of the gasoline out of the damaged tank about 10:30 a.m. By 1 p.m., the crew appeared to have emptied the leaking tank but still had the chore of removing the spilled gasoline and putting it into an additional tanker truck.

The store reopened about 4 p.m., though its gasoline service for vehicles probably will be closed for a few days, according to Peary.

The store is owned by Jeff Canwell, who discovered the leak and called for emergency help. His wife, Tina, was inside the store waiting on customers when the leak occurred. The store and an adjoining small restaurant were closed for much of the day. Tenants in an upstairs apartment were ordered out and reportedly left the scene, though everyone was allowed back in shortly before dark.

Jeff Canwell, who has owned the store for 18 months, bought the business from his uncle, Don Piper.

Cleve Leckey, a hazmat specialist with the DEP, said Wednesday’s chilly, breezy weather helped minimize any danger of explosion. Gasoline normally has a very low flash point, Leckey said. Had the spill occurred on a hot summer day with no breeze, the danger would have been much greater.

Leckey praised the fire departments and Dysart’s for a prompt response.