It could have been worse.
That was the feeling of Lac La Biche's regional fire chief John Kokotilo on a semi-truck fire on Tuesday afternoon that forced the vehicle to pull over on a corner of the busy truck bypass road as 20-foot high flames were shooting from its trailer wheels — as the sun was setting, just as commuters were leaving work, and when temperatures were dropping below -35 Celsius.
The truck was hauling two trailers full of scrap rubberized conveyor belts for recycling, said Kokotilo, when the driver noticed the flames as the truck drove west along the bypass road near the Beaver Hill Road intersection.
While the truck's cargo wasn't immediately considered an issue, Kokotilo said, it could have been.
"Not dangerous but it could have been a problem if the fire would have a chance to accelerate. Any rubber based product – tires, and in this case conveyor belts can prove difficult to extinguish if fully involved," said the fire chief who is also the manager of Protective Services for Lac La Biche County.
Acrid smoke from rubber fires could also have been a significant factor, he added.
All working together
But thanks to a quick response, further dangers were averted.
"Our crews responded quickly and extinguished the fire reducing the chances," he said.
No one was injured in the fire. The front of the truck was disconnected from the trailers and driven away from the blaze as fire crews arrived.
Kokotilo said traffic on the busy stretch of road was diverted for several hours. He commended firefighters, municipal peace officers and RCMP for containing the area.
"Traffic could have been an issue – but our CPOs and the RCMP were quick to re-route traffic," he said, adding that highway transportation crews from EMCON also did a good job to clean up the area after the debris had been removed.
"The weather did prove a bit of concern mainly due the fact of ice build-up on the roadway due to water application. EMCON was immediately informed and the road was sanded once incident cleared," he said.
A cause of the fire was not known. Kokotilo speculated it could have been a mechanic issue with the wheels or brakes of the trailer, and said the extreme cold weather could have played a factor.
Traffic on the truck route was diverted for about two hours after the fire until the area was cleared.
Another truck crash
The response to the truck fire came just hours after a morning collision involving two tanker trucks just a kilometre west of the Lac La Biche hamlet on Highway 55.
Kokotilo said fire crews responded to that incident at about 8 am. The crash sent one of the two tanker trucks into the northside ditch of the highway and through a stand of trees before it came to rest in a clearing in front of the A&T Construction yard.
Witnesses tell the POST that a truck turning onto Highway 55 near the Evangelical Free Church was hit from behind by another tanker truck traveling east on Highway 55 toward Lac La Biche.
Kokotilo was not aware of the cause of the crash, but said his members were quick to arrive at the scene to determine if either tanker was leaking contents.
"There is always a concern with semis carrying commodities on our County roadways," said the fire chief. "Road transport incidents rate very high on our Hazard risk assessment and Emergency Planning."
The tanker had a placard indicating it was carrying Hazard Class – 8 – Corrosives 1824 – Sodium Hydroxide – Caustic Soda
Fire crews say no material leaked from the tankers.
RCMP are continuing to investigate the crash.
Traffic was disrupted on the road for a few hours in the morning. There were no reported serious injuries in the collision.