Thursday’s Fire on I-75 Caused by Damaged Tire, Contents of Tanker Not Burned
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Photo/videos: Jeffrey Williams, Aug. 4, 2023)
Royal Oak, MI – A tanker truck fire on NB I-75 just north of I-96 in Royal Oak Thursday evening had area residents – and people stuck in traffic – speculating about the cause and extent of the damage. Oakland County Times reached out to Royal Oak Fire Chief David Cummins for details about the fire.
Chief Cummins explained that the vehicle was an asphalt tanker, which contains a tarry substance that is not as flammable as fuel. “A rear tired seized up and caught fire,” the Chief said. “The driver pulled the truck to the shoulder and got out. Because of location it took us a few minutes to get a water supply and get water on the tires. Fire did spread to a couple of other tires but it never compromised the tank itself. It was more spectacular looking due to burning tires than danger of exploding which was nil.”
Michigan State Police had Royal Oak Firefighters remain on standby while the contents of the tanker could be transferred to another tanker so the damaged one could be towed.
There were no other vehicles involved, and no injuries. The incident happened at 6:10pm, with NB I-75 just north of I-696 closed through the evening.
Photographer Jeffrey Williams shared video of the incident:
This story is a work in progress, with more information being added as we have it.
