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October 21, 2009

No injuries in fire

Firefighters respond to vehicle fire on Ga. 24

Jonathan Jackson

Baldwin County firefighters responded to a vehicle fire at the intersection of state Route 24 and Stembridge Road Tuesday and doused a blazing flatbed trailer filled with wheat straw.

According to Baldwin County Fire Department Public Information Officer Brandon Barth, firefighters with Fire Rescue Station 5 responded first to the call. Barth said the straw was spread out by heavy equipment on the scene so it could be extinguished.

The straw caught fire when the rear wheels of a flatbed trailer experienced a mechanical problem, causing the tires to come into contact with the trailer and ignite a fire, Barth said. The driver of the truck had noticed the suspension problem and had turned the truck around at the intersection and was heading back to Sandersville when he noticed the fire, Barth said. In addition to Fire Rescue Station 5, a tanker from Station 2 also responded and worked to help extinguish the blaze.

The tractor trailer first came to rest directly in front of the home of Kay Miller who was on her way home from work when she saw the smoke.

“At first I thought my house was on fire,” she said.

After navigating around stalled traffic on Stembridge Road, Miller was able to get to her home. A neighbor, James Toole, said that another neighbor had used Miller’s water hose to extinguish some straw that was burning in her front yard.

The trailer was eventually disengaged from the truck and was pushed down into a grassy area in the intersection where a Baldwin County road crew used heavy equipment to remove the bales of hay off the trailer so the bales could be extinguished. Firefighters doused the bales and no one was injured.

“The truck driver did exactly what he should have,” Toole said. “He saved his life and a lot of property.”

Moore in the meantime, guided the area postal carrier through the same pasture she had used to get home so he could continue his route.

“Rain, snow, sleet or hail — not even fire can stop the post office,” Toole said.

Having lived near the intersection for years, Toole said that he and all his neighbors would like to see it realigned to make it safer and increase visibility.

“I’ve seen some really terrible accidents right here,” he said.

There were no injuries reported in Tuesday’s accident.

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