There were some scary moments on Friday on Highway 400 just north of Barrie after a fire in tanker truck forcing emergency crews to race to the scene to prevent an explosion.
It happened just after 1 p.m. in the southbound lanes of Highway 400 near Forbes Road. The tanker truck had remnants of propane in it and was quickly heating up but firefighters were able to prevent the flames from spreading from the wheels and causing an explosion.
The rear wheels of the tanker caught fire after the brakes overheated. Fire fighters from Barrie and Springwater responded and had to act quickly. Fire officials tell CTV News the tank wasn’t full, but still had 3,000 litres of propane and vapour fumes inside and the tank was getting hot.
“The tank was heating up to 400 degrees, any time you heat up a cylinder there is a possibility that compressed gas could expand and cause an explosion. Luckily firefighters were able to put water on it and cool it down,” says Springwater Fire Deputy Chief Craig Williams.
The fire closed the southbound lanes of the 400 between Highway 11 and Duckworth for about an hour. The driver of the truck wasn’t injured.
