Nov. 22—WETHERSFIELD — A fire in a tanker truck carrying 7,500 gallons of fuel forced the shutdown of Interstate 91 during rush hour Friday morning, state police said.
The tanker's cab was fully engulfed in flames, but the fire apparently did not reach the tank, and the driver was able to get out safely, police said.
The fire was reported about 7:40 a.m. in the area of Exit 24 of I-91 north. Both the north and south lanes initially were shut down, but the lanes for southbound traffic reopened by 8 a.m.
"Given the trailer's hazardous contents, troopers worked quickly to clear surrounding motorists from the area," Connecticut State Police said. Some of the traffic that had to be stopped was coming from Route 3 to I-91 south.
Two lanes for northbound traffic reopened by 9 a.m., and the entire highway was reopened by 11:30 a.m. In addition to state troopers and firefighters from Wethersfield and Rocky Hill, representatives from the state departments of Energy and Environmental Protection and Transportation were at the scene.
Members of the state police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit also responded.
___
(c)2024 the Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, Conn.)
Visit the Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, Conn.) at www.ctpost.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
