The Watson Fire Department battled a semi fire on Sunday that closed a portion of I-57 S/B for almost 40 minutes.
According to a report from the Watson Fire Department, the Department was called to a reported semi tractor-trailer on fire in the southbound lanes of I-57 at milepost 150 at 8:35pm. The person that called in the fire told dispatchers that they had used a fire extinguisher on the fire that was located on the fifth wheel area, but that the fire was growing out of control. Upon arrival, crews reported heavy fire in the front of the refrigerated trailer and in the sleeping quarters of the semi. Firefighters then began to extinguish the exterior flames before entering the semi to extinguish the interior. A hole was cut into the side of the trailer to extinguish the flames inside.
While the fire department was extinguishing the flames, the Illinois State Police and Effingham County Sheriff’s Department closed the Interstate, and traffic was rerouted at the Mason/Watson exit and was allowed to reenter at the Edgewood ramp. Additionally, the Watson Fire Department was assisted by the Edgewood Bi-County Fire Department and Tri Power Towing and Recovery.
