Tractor-trailer filled with cooking oil catches fire

A quick-thinking driver pulled his tractor-trailer full of cooking oil off of I-285 in south Fulton County just moments before it burst into flames Tuesday afternoon.

Daniel Berry, 25, told officials on the scene he knew something was wrong and he pulled over.

WSB-TV

The tractor-trailer, viewed from above.

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“By the time he got out of the truck, the flames were already shooting up,” said Tami Fowler with the College Park fire department.

Berry was not injured and no other vehicles were involved in the incident. He declined to speak in the incident when reached on his cell phone, citing his trucking company’s policy.

Area fire departments worked over an hour before extinguishing the flames, shorty before 6 p.m.

All eastbound lanes of I-285 were blocked between I-85 and Old National Highway was blocked but both later reopened, according to the Georgia Navigator Web site.

The ramp to Old National Highway from I-85 northbound was temporary closed, Fowler said. Southbound lanes on Old National, heading over the bridge, were also closed until the flames were put out.

“Cooking oil does burn, so it’s giving us a bit of a headache trying to put it out,” Fowler said from the scene.

College Park worked with Fulton County fire officials, the department of transportation and a crash truck from nearby Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Fowler said.

A helicopter loaded with foam was sent to help put out the flames, according to Bryan Gunter with the Georgia DOT.

Sand was put on top of the foam, Fowler said. One lane of the I-285 east ramp, headed to the airport, was reopened shortly before 6 p.m.