Westford tractor trailer fire leads to piles of debris, traffic backup on I-495

WESTFORD — Condition Police and regional firefighters responded to a tractor-trailer fireplace Tuesday that still left big piles of debris on Interstate 495 southbound.

The truck, carrying design demolition debris, caught fireplace all-around 11 a.m. about a 50 %-mile south of Boston Road near exit 83, triggering a major traffic backup, in accordance to the Westford Fireplace Department and visuals captured at the scene.

All southbound lanes were closed about 11:30 a.m., but the left lane opened to allow for via targeted traffic about 10 minutes later on, in accordance to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Twitter site.

Since on-duty Westford officials had been “busy managing a number of healthcare calls,” off-responsibility firefighters have been known as to react to the fireplace, in accordance to a press launch from Hearth Capt. Tim Bellemore. Two off-obligation firefighters were the 1st to get there, acquiring smoke and flames billowing from the truck’s trailer, he explained.

Officials dumped the truck’s contents on to the highway in get for firefighters to extinguish the blaze about 11:45 a.m. One State Law enforcement trooper was dispatched along with 8 Westford Fire staff, a Westford ambulance and a 3rd engine delivering drinking water “as there is no hydrant accessibility on the highway,” Bellemore said.

The Chelmsford Hearth Section protected the Westford station though officers have been on scene. MassDOT assisted in putting out the fire.

No extra mishaps or injuries were being described. The cause of the fireplace stays unknown.

The trailer was positioned on the shoulder, but fireplace trucks were partially blocking both equally the correct and middle lanes as of about 1 p.m.

All vacation lanes were being reopened as of 4:18 p.m., MassDOT reported in a tweet, warning of “significant residual delays” in website traffic.