Hot descent into town ignites truck’s braking system

An early morning 911 call about a vehicle fire in front of the McDonalds Restaurant on Mutas Road prompted a swift response from local firefighters Wednesday.

Fire Chief Rob Girard said that when the fire crew arrived at 4:25 a.m. they found the trailer brakes of of tractor unit on fire.

“Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire on the trailer, which was contained to the wheels on the trailer unit only,” he said in a statement.  “Fortunately the fire didn’t spread into the trailer compartment, which evidently contained grocery product.”

The driver of the tractor truck had attempted to extinguish the flames with a fire extinguisher, but it took firefighters to put it out, which they did in less than 10 minutes. No one, including the driver, was injured during the incident, Girard said.

As to the cause of the fire, he said the rig’s braking system apparently overheated as it descended the Trans-Canada Highway into Revelstoke.