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Demolition Crew Accidentally Crushes Canister, Sends Oil Flying In Linden, N.J.

LINDEN, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Imagine black, slippery, disgusting oil sprayed all over your home.

As CBS2's Meg Baker reported, that is exactly what happened to one woman in Linden, New Jersey Thursday. A demolition crew trying to move an oil canister accidentally crushed it.

The black oil splattered everywhere after a demolition of a home by the Sakoutis Brothers Disposal Company went wrong, causing a hazmat situation on Price Street off Route 9.

"We prepared everything for the demolition and there was apparently an oil canister in back where the property was built, it looked like it was almost built around it, it was hidden in there. When the demolition contractor showed up, they grabbed it and squeezed it, and squeezed all the oil out of it," homeowner John Niemczyk said.

Oil shot over the fence and onto his neighbor's newly-installed veranda. An American flag and a Portuguese flag were both left drenched in oil.

"When I return I see everything spilled with oil, I was really upset," resident Olga Alexandre said. "We never realized it would be a big problem because he's a professional I think he's supposed to know what he should do.

"This cost us so much to build and I think everything has to be ripped off," Alexander continued.

The Linden hazmat team assessed the damage.

"I'm still investigating everything," a hazmat team member said.

A neighbor said a truck driver used to live at the home, and would change his own oil.

A cleanup crew was in the process of putting down an environmentally friendly product to soak up the oil late Thursday afternoon. Afterward, they will have to scrub all the bricks.

It was unclear who would foot the bill.

The cleaning company was also testing the soil to see how deep the contamination went. The cleanup process could take a few days.

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