18-wheeler catches fire, closes down Ga. 257

Dublin fire officials suspect that a mechanical issue caused an 18-wheeler to catch fire and shut down Ga. 257 for more than three hours Monday morning.

According to Dublin Fire Chief Matthew Cutler, the 18-wheeler had just been loaded and left Smurfit Westrock in East Dublin, and was traveling over the Interstate 16 bridge on Ga. 257 when the driver heard something pop.

“The next thing she knew, the rear of the truck and the front of the trailer were on fire,” Cutler said. “There were reports that she may have had trouble getting out of the truck and may still be in the truck. By the time we arrived, 911 let us know that the driver was out of the vehicle and she was fine.” 

Cutler said firefighters had a “well-involved” fire with the truck when they arrived. The DFD and Laurens County Fire Department attacked the flames to put it out.

“The fire began in the tire area of the truck,” Cutler said. 

In addition to the 18-wheeler, Cutler said there was a fender-bender accident behind the fire scene. The Dublin Police Department and the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office helped block the road to shut down the road and allow the firefighter control the fire.

“We had hoses stretched all over the place,” Cutler said.

Unfortunately, one driver made their way around law enforcement to squeeze through and run over the fire department’s hoses.

“I was very angry,” Cutler said. “It is a violation of law to do that. It very dangerous for the firefighters. They were still fighting the fire and this guy is running over the hose. It could get hung under the vehicle, and the driver not know it and they could be dragging firefighters down the road.

“When something like that happens, the hose has to be taken out of service and it has to be tested to make sure there was no damage,” he added. “This afternoon, it should be tested and determined if there is damage. If it is damage, the police should have that person’s information, and we’ll have to have another chat.” 

Cutler said a fire hose cost anywhere between $150 to $200 for every section of it and the driver ran over three sections. Besides the hose, it was dangerous for the driver to going through an incident scene.

Cutler directed the driver to a police officer.

“I let them handle it,” the chief said. “He had the guy pulled over and they had a conversation. I don’t know what happened after that.

“When we shut a road down, we understand that we are effecting people’s travel or whatever they’ve got going on,” Cutler said. “We aren’t doing it to ruin somebody’s day or make somebody late. It is for the safety of the public, our firefighters, our police officers and victims.”