Firefighters Extinguish Potentially Dangerous Scenario on I-295

A fast response time and some favorable circumstances allowed firefighters to keep damage to a minumum Monday afternoon as they responded to a trailer fire on I-295 near the Arundel Mills Boulevard exit. 

It only took firefighters six minutes to respond to the incident that caused significant backups on the major highway around 3:16 p.m. Despite the speedy resolution, the situation could have been much worse according to the Anne Arundel County Fire Department.

"We got lucky," said Capt. James Rostek, a spokesman for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department. 

Rostek said the fire was kept inside the cab and engine area of the truck, which firefighters quickly extinguished with water. With no hydrants nearby, the first responders called for a tanker, containing at least 2,000 gallons of water. 

"Absolutely it could have been worse," he said. "It could have spread to the fuel system. A lot of times, those trucks carry diesel fuel and the gas can be near the cab." 

As quickly as the incident occured, I-295 was back to normal as the tanker left the scene and the car carrier truck was left on the side of the road.