Fire On Highway 136 Destroys Semi And Building

Firefighters were dispatched Thursday, July 18, to the scene of a semi truck that had caught fire on Highway 136, just east of Fairbury. Fire command established by Fire Chief Judd Stewart.At 12:04 p.m., Jefferson County Dispatch received a 911 call regarding the fire. Fire Personnel were on scene within four minutes and found a semi tractor fully involved and starting to spread to a building beside the semi. Due to the spread to the large shop building, mutual aid was requested from Jansen and Diller for water tenders and personnel and a request was made for all Fairbury water tenders to be enroute.The first engine arrived within nine minutes of the page. Initial attack was made with a two-and-a-half inch handline on the semi first, then within the building. The fire was knocked down within 10 minutes.An excavator was used to remove the large overhead door to gain better access to the shop area with a second engine. Once the door was removed, it was found to only have one pickup and shop supplies inside the storage bay. The remaining fire was knocked down and the fire was considered contained at 12:41 p.m., with crews remaining on scene for another hour-and-a-half, completing overhaul on an office area of the building and ensuring there were no remaining hotspots. The cause of the fire appeared to be an electrical malfunction within the dash area of the semi. The semi had been used within an hour prior to the fire call. The semi tractor, the building and pickup inside are a total loss.Ambulance District 33, as well as Jefferson and Saline County Emergency Management were requested for firefighter rehabilitation. There were no injuries to firefighters or to any members of the public. Jefferson County Sheriff’s office was on scene to help control traffic and ensure safety of fire department operations. Fairbury Rural Fire issued a statement, “Chief Stewart wants to thank all the firefighters from FRFD and the neighboring departments who responded to this fire. It was a great collaborative effort to get a quick knockdown on the fire and perform the extensive overhaul required to ensure no rekindle. Their effort was greatly appreciated by the business owners.”

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