Disaster averted in Parks truck fire

WILLOW -- A quick-thinking truck driver, Alaska State Troopers and Mat-Su fire and ambulance emergency responders prevented a potentially serious explosion on the Parks Highway Friday night.

Alaska State Troopers received a call at 11:19 p.m. Friday that a tractor trailer and semi-trailer were on fire near mile 92, between Willow and Sunshine. When troopers, fire and ambulance crews responded to the scene, they found that a rear tire on the tractor had burst into flames and could not be extinguished with fire extinguishers.

Trooper Sgt. Rodney Johnson of the Talkeetna post was the first responder to arrive at the scene. Johnson said on Monday that he arrived to find that the driver of the rig and a passenger had uncoupled the tractor and driven it away from the tanker trailer, which contained liquefied natural gas. Both the tractor and tanker were located in the lane of traffic, with cars already stopped at the scene.

According to Johnson, the driver had driven the tractor only about 100 feet away from the trailer when the fire burned through the air brakes, which then locked up so that he was unable to drive it any further. When Johnson saw the tractor, the tires were melting and dripping onto the pavement. Johnson said the truck carried all the required fire and safety equipment, and other motorists provided additional fire extinguishers, but they could not extinguish the fire.

Firefighters from Talkeetna fire department reported to the scene and were able to extinguish the fire before the fuel tanks on the tractor ruptured, and before the fire spread to the trailer.

Traffic was stopped for approximately 30 to 40 minutes and backed up for nearly one-half mile in either direction, Johnson said. While waiting for firefighters to bring the blaze under control, Johnson tried to get the highway cleared for a safe distance from the site of what could have been a disastrous explosion. The job was made difficult by the fact that the traffic was already backed up, a situation complicated by black ice on the highway.

Johnson said that the truck driver had done the right thing by uncoupling and moving the tractor, a job that requires pulling a release handle and setting the landing gear of the trailer. The burning tires were "duallies" on the right rear of the tractor that would have been located directly under the tank when the rig was coupled. Johnson could see carbon marks on the tank itself, indicating that flames had already been licking at the trailer tank, which was said to be double-walled.

Both the driver and the passenger were checked for smoke inhalation and released from the scene without injury. No cause was reported for the blaze.

"A large explosion was averted," Johnson said.