Truck hauling new vehicles catches fire

Published 2:19 pm Monday, September 10, 2012

Clanton firefighters extinguish a blaze that engulfed a truck at Love's on Monday.

A vehicle fire at Love’s truck stop Monday morning was contained without injuries or any threat to fuel pumps.

The driver of a tractor-trailer carrying new Hyundai vehicles told officials he began experiencing mechanical problems while heading north on Interstate 65 from the Hyundai plant near Montgomery, Clanton Fire Department Chief David Driver said.

The driver needed to re-fuel, but was well away from the fuel pumps and the Love’s store when a fire erupted from the engine.

“Fortunately, he had the forethought that he didn’t pull close to the store,” Driver said.

Firefighters battled the blaze in the area of the property designated for trucks, north of the store.

CFD was dispatched at 7:08 a.m., and the fire was contained by 7:27, Driver said. The truck was destroyed as were three of the nine vehicles being hauled. At least one other vehicle sustained damage.

The Emergency Management Agency responded, to ensure spilled chemicals weren’t a threat to customers, and cleared the area.

“We don’t know what caused it,” Driver said. “He was trying to get a parking spot, and then the fire started.”