Traffic on Interstate 55 was at a standstill for a couple of hours Sunday night as firefighters worked to extinguish a burning trailer.
According to Winona Fire Chief Brad Mooneyham, the Winona Fire Department was dispatched to a fire on the northbound shoulder of Interstate 55 near the 181 mile marker. He said when firefighters arrived a refrigerated trailer being pulled by a tractor-trailer truck was fully engulfed by fire.
Mooneyham said it appeared that the breaks on the trailer caused the blaze as it was being pulled by a truck belonging to Price Trucking of Bakersfield, Calif. The driver was not hurt in the blaze and did what he could to prevent the fire from spreading to the truck.
“The driver got the trailer unhooked from the truck before the fire department got there,” Mooneyham said.
The trailer and its load of beans were completely destroyed in the blaze.
According to Allan Pratt, Montgomery County Emergency Operations Director, the northbound lane of Interstate 55 was closed for nearly two-and-a-half hours while emergency personnel were on the scene.
Mooneyham said the call required three trucks, all supplying water at the scene, and six firefighters to extinguish the fire.
