Driver escapes after detaching cab as fire spreads to brush along turnpike shoulder
A tractor-trailer fire along the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Northeast Extension Thursday night sent loud explosions echoing through nearby neighborhoods and shut down part of the southbound shoulder and right lane of the southbound highway near Franconia and Towamencin townships.
The fire was reported around 10:54 p.m. Thursday between mile markers 32.4 and 32.6 on the southbound side of the highway, near the Route 63/Kulpsville interchange and the Schoolhouse Road access gate.
Responding crews from Towamencin Fire Company and Tylersport Fire Company arrived to find the trailer heavily involved, with flames also spreading into a small brush fire along the roadside.
Witnesses in the area described a series of loud explosions beginning shortly before 10:45 p.m., with several additional blasts over the next 10 to 15 minutes that were strong enough to shake nearby homes.
According to accounts from neighbors, the driver was able to detach the tractor and pull away after noticing smoke, but the trailer became fully engulfed within minutes.
Firefighters worked to contain both the vehicle fire and the surrounding brush, as the contents of the trailer fueled intense flames and repeated bursts.
No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire and the nature of the cargo involved were not immediately released.
