News

Garbage truck catches fire on I-26

A garbage truck caught fire on I-26 on Thursday. [PHOTO BY JOHN GREAR]

By Bill Moss, Published: September 24, 2015

The driver escaped injury when a garbage truck carrying recycled cardboard caught fire and became fully engulfed in flames on I-26 just east of the Upward Road interchange on Thursday afternoon.

Blue Ridge Fire & Rescue was dispatched to the fire at 1:30 p.m. Thursday and we're still working at the scene two hours later.

"It spread from the cab to the back of the truck where all the cardboard was," Blue Ridge firefighter Kemper Henderson said in an interview from the fire station. "They're basically having to go through it by hand now and wet it down. They're basically have to empty the truck onto the ground."

One lane of traffic was open on eastbound I-26 at 3:30 p.m., he said.