NC fire chief blames food waste for hazardous dead chickens on roads

"The problem for us is that we're volunteers. We have to go out there and stay sometimes for hours, on the side of the road blocking the road," Coleman said. "So my guys miss work."

People living on U.S. Highway 24 said it's hard to decide which is worse, the traffic back from the spill or the smell.

"It's rotten," one resident said. When it gets on that highway, it stays there for a while."

Coleman also says it is costing taxpayers money to pay for fire engines to deploy each time there's a spill.

"While we are out there blocking the road, we've had other calls come in," Coleman said.

"It seems like it's the same locations over and over again," Coleman said. "And if there's some way to transport this stuff a little bit better it would save us a lot of money."

Coleman said multiple spills in the area are coming from trucks run by Darling Ingredients, which owns an animal waste plant in the area. Coleman said the company needs to take action to prevent the spills.

A spokesperson fo the company said they're aware of multiple spills in the Clinton area over the past three weeks and they deeply regret what occurred. The company is working closely with government officials, including the state Department of Transportation and Agriculture and Consumer Services to do so, the spokesperson said.