SAULT STE. MARIE - A community effort by people caught in traffic helped to bring a raging transport fire under control up the highway on Tuesday.
Jen Lemay and her partner Rod Wiebe were on their way home to Heyden when they were caught in the slowed traffic caused by a tanker fire on Hwy. 17 near Aweres Township.
The first thing the pair saw was smoke on the highway ahead of them.
"We came closer to see it was the transport," said Lemay. "Rod pulled over, handed me my phone said: 'call 911.'"
At the time they arrived, Lemay said the driver of the transport was attempting to put out the fire that started under the hood of the cab.
Lemay said Weibe ran to the truck and tried to help the driver to unhook the cab from the trailer while she called the authorities, before she began documenting the scene on her phone's camera.
As time went on, the fire grew until it engulfed the entire cab of the transport. Lemay said. Even from far away, she could feel the heat from the blaze.
"The fire started to get stronger and both men had to leave the trailer," she said.
Firefighters arrived to fight the blaze, while traffic on the highway was stalled in both directions.
Among the vehicles in the standstill was a water truck. Lemay said Rod approached the driver to ask how much water was in it, then approached the firefighters to ask if the extra water would be helpful.
He helped the driver of the water truck assist in the firefighting effort.
Lemay said she was scared the tanker might blow up.
"Each time the truck popped, I jumped," she said.
Lemay said the driver of the transport was treated on the scene but she is unsure of any injuries.