Incident Response drivers remain cool under 'fire'

ITD's Nick Jones and Kyle Wright assisted with traffic control and ensuring safe conditions for travelers when responding to separate Jan. 18 truck fires on Interstate 84.

Jones, who operates an Incident Response truck, provided initial traffic control and then returned to Eisenman Road at Exit 59 to divert vehicles from the scene of the burning truck east of Boise.
 
“In no time, we had 10-15 miles of cars backed up on the freeway,” he explained. "I could see the fire from a mile away, with flames shooting up about 50 feet in the air."
 
He also served as a de facto public relations representative at the scene, answering motorists’ questions about the incident until ISP gathered and provided details to the media.
 
Meanwhile, Wright also represented Incident Response at another vehicle fire the same night farther west. He was at exit 44 (Meridian Road) on I-84, attending to a pickup sitting on the shoulder of eastbound I-84 just before Locust Grove. The tire on the truck had caught fire, likely a result of driving too long on a blown tire and having the rubber over-heat.
 
"The guy had emptied his own fire extinguisher on the tire and failed to put it out," Wright said. “I used mine as well, but couldn't put it out. It took the(Meridian) fire department hitting it with the water in their hoses." Wright said it ultimately took less than an hour to subdue the fire.
 
Wright said he used two 20 lb. Dry Chemical Fire extinguishers - the second one more slowly - to keep the flames at bay until the fire department arrived.
 
He then drove to Eisenman to help Jones, piloting cars that had stacked into three lanes around the site of the fire.
 
While Jones had a lethal fuel mixture as part of his fire response, Wright also had a potentially explosive situation as well – an oxygen-acetylene tank in the back of the truck.
 
“The tire fire was right next to the fuel line for the pick-up, and the tank was stored above it, but thankfully neither actually caught fire,” Wright explained.

Both Incident Response drivers are examples of ITD's commitment to highway safety and delivering Outstanding Customer Service.

Published 1-25-2013