Some residents of Timonium and Lutherville awoke to a pungent odor and hazmat crews working in the area Sunday morning following a fuel spill at the Baltimore County Detention Center late Saturday.

Jay Apperson, a spokesperson for the Maryland Department of the Environment, said nearly 6,000 gallons of fuel oil had spilled from a generator at the detention center and entered the waterway at Long Quarter Branch.

Emergency crews responded immediately. By Sunday afternoon the detention center had hired a contractor to handle the spill, Apperson said. County officials said cleanup work was happening “around the clock.”

The smell of diesel is likely to linger in areas around the affected streams.

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According to the department, there were no reported impacts to wildlife, residents or local drinking water. Still, individuals with respiratory conditions have been advised to avoid the area and people are urged to stay away from water with a visible sheen or diesel scent.

Local agencies are monitoring the situation.