No one was injured when flames overtook a semi truck parked in the rear of the Holiday Inn located at 116 Park Avenue West in Mansfield.
According to Capt. Brian Danals with the Mansfield Fire Department, the department received a call at 11:14 a.m. reporting of a semi truck on fire. Engine 1 and Rescue 1 responded, as well as the Mansfield Police Department to block off West Third Street. Traffic had been restored to West Third Street at approximately 11:30 a.m.
“The driver came in from the night shift, parked his truck and went to bed (in the Holiday Inn),” Danals explained. “The day driver came out to get the truck and noticed a little bit of fire underneath the hood of the truck.”
Danals said the driver attempted to extinguish the fire with his own extinguisher, but the fire was too big. The flames fully engulfed the cab of the truck, which did not have a trailer attached.
“There was a lot of smoke, there’s a lot of plastic that burns,” said Danals. A tall column of black smoke was visible as far away as Main Street in Mansfield.
The exact cause of the fire still has to be determined, but Danals noted the fire definitely started somewhere under the hood.
The truck belongs to Estes Express Lines trucking company, which has a terminal in Mansfield at 792 5th Avenue. A request for comment to Michael Kruman, manager of the Mansfield terminal, was not returned as of press time.
