ST. GEORGE — A semitrailer driver traveling on state Route 18 Saturday morning found his brakes overheating, which caused a small fire in the undercarriage.
“About noon … we were paged to reports of a semi truck that was on fire at North Bluff Street just south of Sunset,” Battalion Chief Rob Hooper of the St. George Fire Department said. “We arrived on scene and found that the brakes were smoking and actually on fire on the semi truck trailer.”
The fire was quickly extinguished, Hooper said.
“The driver was hauling hay cubes coming down Highway 18 (North Bluff Street) headed to California,” Hooper said, adding it was a good thing the fire didn’t spread into the trailer, otherwise they would have had a much harder time putting the fire out.
The driver said he was transporting 44,000 pounds of hay cubes from Beryl Junction to Victorville, California.
Hooper said the driver was able to drive the semi away to get his brakes checked. “Normally when we put water on a brake fire, one or two tires explode. It didn’t happen this time.”
No injuries or other property damage was reported. Units from the St. George Fire Department and the St. George Police Department responded to the fire. Traffic was slowed for about 45 minutes while the fire was extinguished.
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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