Murfreesboro Fire & Rescue Department’s Engine 15 was dispatched to a tractor trailer incident at Old Fort Parkway and Golf Lane just before 1:00 Wednesday afternoon.
A truck driver pulled up to the traffic light at the intersection and noticed that his engine kept revving up. He was unable to turn the engine off and was afraid it would burst into flames, so he requested MFRD on scene.
Shortly before MFRD arrived, the truck’s engine blew. Although no flames were present, a cloud of heavy smoke surrounded the area. “You could not even see Thornton’s gas station,” commented Captain Jamie Bigelow.
Radiator fluid and oil leaked from the truck’s engine. Engine 15 checked for fire hazards and then began mitigating the spill.
City Engineer Sam Huddleston was called to the scene and it was determined that no fluids spilled into nearby storm drains. Engine 15’s crew kept any fluids from entering the storm drains and later applied oil dry to absorb all the fluids.
“Engine 15 worked quickly with the tow company to get the truck moved,” said Bigelow. “Traffic was flowing again within an hour.”