The West Hartford Fire Department responded to a truck fire in a parking lot off South Main Street Friday afternoon.

By Ronni Newton. Video credit: John Demitrus

The West Hartford Fire Department used water as well as foam just after 1 p.m. Friday afternoon to extinguish a fire on a pickup truck that was carrying a container of home heating fuel.

According to Assistant Chief Hugh O’Callaghan, the driver said he was on I-84 when he detected “a wood-like burning odor” in the cab of his truck.

He pulled off the highway at the South Main Street exit and into a parking lot, and observed flames toward the rear of the vehicle.

The driver was transporting a container with approximately 20 gallons of heating fuel that he had removed from a job site, O’Callaghan said. Flames that were coming from underneath the vehicle quickly spread to the plastic container of fuel, rupturing it and feeding the fire, sending up a huge plume of smoke that was visible for several miles.

“Engine 5, Ladder 3, and Car 4 were on scene and quickly brought the fire under control with 200 gallons of water including the use of foam,” O’Callaghan said.

Crews also had to take measures, which were successful, to prevent runoff into a nearby storm drain. Officials from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) also responded to the scene.

There were no injuries.

O’Callaghan said that the Fire Marshal’s Office is currently investigating the incident.  

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West Hartford firefighters extinguished a fire in a pickup truck that was carrying a container of home heating oil. Courtesy of West Hartford Fire Department