Four fire departments respond to tractor-trailer fire on I-75 Thursday night

A tractor-trailer fire Thursday night closed down Interstate 75 at Exit 25 in north Corbin.

Photo courtesy of West Knox Fire Department

West Knox, Corbin, Keavy and Lily firefighters responded to the scene where the flatbed truck loaded with plastic containers was burning.

“It was pretty much fully involved,” said West Knox Fire Chief Darryl Baker.

“They were stacked together, so it didn’t allow us to get in between them to get it out,” Baker said of the plastic containers.

Baker said firefighters were paged to the scene at 8:30 p.m.

“The driver said he heard something pop behind the cab,” Baker said when asked about the cause of the fire. “He pulled over and once he got out, he could see the truck was on fire between the cab and the trailer.”

Photo courtesy of West Knox Fire Department.

Baker said firefighters had the flames knocked down within approximately 45 minutes.

Southbound I-75 was closed for approximately one hour and reduced to one lane for an additional hour.

“We had to improvise an exit ramp,” Baker said noting the truck had stopped right at the exit ramp.