Lantzville firefighters extinguish propane tanker truck fire during winter storm

Lantzville firefighters extinguish propane tanker truck fire during winter storm
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A propane truck on fire on Highway 19 blocks northbound traffic outside of Lantzville around 10:30 a.m. Credit: Cristina Evanusich

The northbound lanes of Highway 19 near Lantzville were shut down Tuesday morning as firefighters worked to extinguish a burning propane tanker truck.

At around 10:30 a.m., firefighters were called to the vehicle fire and responded with a crew of four people.

“We arrived on scene a tractor-trailer hauling over 3,000 litres of propane engulfed in the cab section,” Chris Knudsen from the Lantzville Fire Rescue said.

According to Knudsen, the fire was extinguished quickly and the highway was shut down for about half-an-hour.

“Any vehicle fire is dangerous. There’s a lot of elements that can come into play with things exploding or projectiles,” Knudsen said.

“Traffic is an issue, which is why we decided to block the road quickly and of course the cargo on this one, not just the fuel tanks themselves on the tractor-trailer but the high amount of propane that was carried by this tractor trailer.”

No one was injured in the fire.

“The driver did a great job getting out of the cab, killing his air brake lines and taking what he needed out of there for us,” Knudsen said.

READ MORE: Winter storm hits Vancouver Island, thousands without power

Knudsen said firefighters had spent the morning dealing with fallen power lines before the call about the truck fire came in.

A propane truck on fire on Highway 19 blocks northbound traffic outside of Lantzville around 10:30 a.m. Credit: Cristina Evanusich

The aftermath of a propane tanker truck fire on Highway 19 on Dec. 19.

 

Alexa HuffmanAlexa Huffman

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