Three engines responded to the fire at 11:30 a.m. The burning tractor-trailer truck was stopped in the slow travel lane near the Route 7 connector. The blaze was extinguished within 10 minutes, and firefighters continued to cool the smoldering tractor cab and motor for several minutes, fire officials said. The shipping container that the truck was carrying was empty.
The saddle tanks of the tractor contained 100 gallons of diesel fuel. Connecticut Department of Transportation crews and sand trucks assisted with some motor fluids that mixed with rainfall on the highway, fire officials said. The storm water culverts to the Norwalk River were checked for motor fluids, and none were found.
The southbound traffic on I-95 and the Route 7 connector was shut down or reduced to one lane for an hour as emergency crews worked the scene. Firefighters and DOT crews removed melted debris from the roadway, and Parkway Auto Body towed the truck from the highway.
Fire Inspector Tom Raila is investigating the cause of the blaze. The driver of the truck was not injured in the incident.
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