Semi that burst into flames on I-94 was carrying food, drinks; fire was result of crash



WAUWATOSA -- Officials with the Wauwatosa Fire Department on Thursday, June 1st shared a photo showing what was left of a semi after a fire on I-94 in the Zoo Interchange Wednesday afternoon.

Fire officials said it happened around 2:15 p.m. following a two-vehicle crash, which occurred on the ramp
from I-41 southbound to I-94 westbound.

First responders arrived to find a large semi with both the tractor and trailer fully engulfed in flames.

The semi was pulling a trailer filled with food and drink products, which were completely destroyed, along with the truck and trailer.

A second, smaller passenger vehicle was also involved in the accident and did suffer some fire damage.

Amazingly, no one was hurt.



 

Due to the location and a lack of nearby fire hydrants, Wauwatosa fire officials requested water tender trucks from the Elm Grove and New Berlin Fire Departments to assist. Crews remained on the scene for over three hours in order to completely extinguish the fire.

As a result of this incident, I-94 west was closed for a short-time and the N-W ramp remained closed until early Thursday morning.



Wauwatosa fire officials in a statement thanked the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office for assisting with traffic issues, which were significant, the Wisconsin DOT Zoo Interchange construction team for their coordination, and Walsh Construction for the use of their heavy equipment and operator to help remove burning product from the trailer.