AUGUSTA — The southbound lanes of Interstate 95 were closed for about 25 minutes late Friday morning as Augusta firefighters worked to put out a truck fire around mile marker 110.
John Bennett, a battalion chief in the Augusta Fire Department, said a heavy equipment service truck from Central Equipment Co., of Stillwater, caught fire after the transmission apparently blew.
“The gentleman (in the truck) heard a loud bang, and there was fire in the cab,” Bennett said.
The Augusta fire department received the call at 10:57 a.m., and when the fire trucks arrived on the scene, traffic was already backed up to the Bond Brook Bridge.
Bennett said the interstate was shut down while firefighters knocked down the blaze and stamped out spot fires that broke out about 1,500 feet from where the truck came to a stop.
“It was fully involved, but we were able salvage the service body,” he said, noting that the driver was uninjured. “The truck had quite a fuel load, with the diesel and acetylene.”
Bennett said the Maine Department of Transportation was notified so it could warn drivers about traffic conditions.
At one point, according to emergency radio dispatches, traffic was backed up about 3 miles to Exit 113.
Jessica Lowell — 621-5632
Twitter: @JLowellKJ
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