Fire causes closure of Highway 67, south of Fredericktown
More than three hours after the initial call July 11, firefighters and other emergency personnel were still battling a tractor trailer fire on U.S. 67 approximately 13 miles south of Fredericktown.
A call came in to Madison County dispatch at 2:24 p.m. reporting a tractor trailer on fire.
The Cherokee Pass Fire Department arrived first and began attacking the fire. A flatbed trailer was filled with several bales of cardboard which were on fire. Officials on the scene said the burning cardboard caused extreme heat to the point it hindered firefighting efforts.
The Fredericktown and Marquand Fire Departments were also called to the scene, along with the Madison County Sheriff’s Department, Madison County EMS and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Cherokee Pass Fire Chief Bill Starkey said both lanes of southbound U.S. 67 were closed for more than an hour. At 5 p.m. the highway was still just open to one lane of southbound traffic. Starkey said all officials left the scene by 6:30 p.m.
The tractor and trailer were towed from the scene, as firefighters and Bob Hinkle, operating a backhoe, continued to work on fully extinguishing the fire in the trailer cargo.
There were no reports of any injuries as a result of the blaze. Starkey said one firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion.
On July 11, Cherokee Pass, Fredericktown, and Marquand firefighters and Bob Hinkle, operating a backhoe, continue to work on fully extinguishing several bales of cardboard from a flatbed trailer on US 67 south of Fredericktown.
