The driver of a semi-trailer truck escaped injuries Sunday evening after his truck caught on fire while he was asleep.
He was in the sleeping unit of the truck when it was parked at the access road to Tolko Industries Ltd. in Williams Lake.
The Williams Lake Fire Department, located very close to the scene, got a call around 11 p.m. says fire chief Randy Isfeld.
“The driver woke up. He heard an air break discharge. A hose line had come loose. He realized the engine compartment of the truck was on fire,” Isfeld says, adding the driver had attempted to put the fire out himself, using a couple fire extinguishers that he had in the truck, but was unsuccessful.
Isfeld says 18 people responded to the call and 11 members were on scene.
“We had two pieces of apparatus, one for water supply and one for pumping, of course. It took us about 15 minutes to get the fire under control and another 15 or 20 minutes to make sure the fire was completely out,” Isfeld says.
The truck is a complete write off.
The driver had come to Williams Lake to pick up some wood at Tolko and was waiting for morning for the mill to open to load up, Isfeld adds.
