Separating your vehicles in an emergency
You may have read that we lost our truck and fifth wheel last week in a horrendous fire. Although the exact cause has not been identified yet, it appears to be from a diesel fuel leak near the top of...
Forum Discussion
Jim,
I can tell you from my truck driving days, although it never happened to me personally I witnessed a truck/trailer fire fairly close. The driver pulled over, his brakes on the trailer were "hanging" up, by the time he realized he was on fire it had already spread to the cargo box from the axels. He pulled the fifth wheel pin, got in the cab quickly and dropped the trailer on it's nose. The tractor was spared but by the time the fire department arrived it was too late for the trailer and it's contents! Luckily there wasn't Hazmat on board.
I have thought about this scenario before your incident and I'm not sure how I'd respond, like you stated the fire was really advanced giving you no time or very little time to react and disconnect. Any way you slice it in a case like yours I don't think there would be many options.
I CAN"T imagine how it must've felt to watch your rig burn while waiting helplessly for the fire department. So sorry for your loss! :(
Dan
I can tell you from my truck driving days, although it never happened to me personally I witnessed a truck/trailer fire fairly close. The driver pulled over, his brakes on the trailer were "hanging" up, by the time he realized he was on fire it had already spread to the cargo box from the axels. He pulled the fifth wheel pin, got in the cab quickly and dropped the trailer on it's nose. The tractor was spared but by the time the fire department arrived it was too late for the trailer and it's contents! Luckily there wasn't Hazmat on board.
I have thought about this scenario before your incident and I'm not sure how I'd respond, like you stated the fire was really advanced giving you no time or very little time to react and disconnect. Any way you slice it in a case like yours I don't think there would be many options.
I CAN"T imagine how it must've felt to watch your rig burn while waiting helplessly for the fire department. So sorry for your loss! :(
Dan
