Red Bank, SC (Paul Kirby) – Residents and commuters in the Red Bank area of the county dodged a bullet Tuesday afternoon when a tractor trailer caught fire around 5:20 p.m. The fire was reported at the intersection of South Lake Drive (SC 6) and Nazareth Road. The original dispatch was for a vehicle fire. Enroute, firefighters were advised that the vehicle was actually a gasoline tanker truck whose trailer section was burning. The average gasoline tanker can carry in excess of 10,000 gallons of fuel. Immediately, additional resources were dispatched to assist by the county’s telecommunicators. The astute driver of the rig quickly uncoupled the truck portion and pulled it away from the trailer. He advised the 911 center that the trailer was essentially empty, but that there was residue in the tank. In some cases, this can be as or more dangerous than a full tank. The residual vapors, the most explosive product of the product, fills the space where the liquid would be creating a virtual bomb if it’s exposed to fire. The first due fire trucks arrived quickly and reported that they had nothing visible. After a quick size-up, they used a fire extinguisher to put the fire completely out.
The firefighters quickly cleared the scene after turning it over to law enforcement.
