Mobile Fire-Rescue Department units were dispatched at 12:58 a.m. for a report of a motor vehicle collision on the I-65 southbound to I-10 westbound interchange early Tuesday morning, August 6, 2024, in Mobile, Alabama.
Engine 23 arrived on scene to find two vehicles off the roadway, including a passenger vehicle fully involved in flames trapped underneath an 18-wheeler Amazon truck and trailer that was also on fire. A victim was deceased inside the car.
Engine 23 used all 500 gallons of its onboard water tank to knock the fire down, but the trailer was loaded with packages and flared back up. No fire hydrants are available on the interstates.
Several more units were requested to provide both a water supply and personnel. In hot weather, dispatching extra units allows crews to rotate to avoid overexertion or heat exhaustion.
With more crews and more apparatuses on scene, MFRD was able to extinguish the fire.
Engine 23, Truck 24, Rescue 24 and District 3 were initially dispatched to the scene. Also dispatched were Engine 16, Engine 19, Truck 17, Engine 12, Heavy Rescue 25, Water Tanker 36, Rehab 1, Hazmat 15 and Truck 10.
Hazmat 15 used booms and diking to stop a small amount of fuel that had spilled from the car from spreading into nearby waterways.
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