Terrifying truck fire closes down Toronto highway
A transport truck carrying two tanks of fuel burst into flames on the 401 near Leslie Wednesday morning, halting all eastbound traffic right in the middle of rush hour.
Toronto Police say that a fire broke out in the truck’s cab around 8:30 a.m. for reasons that are still unknown. By the time emergency crews arrived to the scene, the cab was "fully engulfed" in flames.
Tanker truck on fire on 401 Eastboound just before Leslie. #TrafficAlert #insane @CityNews @Z1035Toronto pic.twitter.com/esrQtYjGn9
— Maja Samborski (@Maja_ski) September 26, 2018
Fortunately, Toronto firefighters extinguished the blaze before it hit the truck’s highly flammable cargo.
ROAD CLOSURE: #Hwy401 EB Collectors and Express at Leslie - all EB lanes CLOSED due to truck fire, reopening time unknown. ^lm pic.twitter.com/Oez5Kew1bP
— OPP GTA Traffic (@OPP_GTATraffic) September 26, 2018
Commuters were stuck in traffic for about an hour before police partially reopened some eastbound express and collector lanes on Highway 401 - but it could have been much, much worse.
On Hwy 401 watching a tanker truck burn and all my fellow drivers walking around. Wish I brought a ball we could throw around. It’s going to be awhile. pic.twitter.com/yAJc6uxtwn
— Tom Vurinaris (@homeinspectGTA) September 26, 2018
Video footage shared by drivers on Twitter shows what could have turned into an explosive situation, had firefighters not acted so fast.
@CP24 truck fire on 401 east near 404. pic.twitter.com/8Hg2I4XfIn
— jimirazz (@jimirazz) September 26, 2018
Police say that no fuel was spilled in the incident, and, miraculously, no injuries have been reported.
The eastbound 401 is still partially closed at Bayview while OPP officers remain on scene, so avoid the area if you’re in a hurry.
