Highway 59 outside a Houston was completely shut down today by a truck fire near Cleveland. The incident started initially by a fire in the cab of a tanker truck authorities believe. How the fire spread to the tanker is unknown at this time.
The tanker truck was carrying acrylic acid which was a huge impediment to battling the flames by local area firefighters. Because of the acrylic acid, firefighters were unable to initially approach the truck.
Traffic was completely stopped for hours in both directions while hazmat officials battled the flames and the cleanup.
Houston has been plagued recently by incidents such as this where a truck accident causes are already congested highways to be completely shut down and local crews utilized for cleanup. Not only has this been terrible for Houstonians commuting but also for our local infrastructure that in some instances has been damaged by the truck accidents.
There are no reports of injuries from this truck fire. If injuries that result authorities typically look to a cause and origin fire expert to determine what caused the fire and where it started.
Truck drivers and trucking companies who transport hazardous materials are subject to additional scrutiny under the trucking regulations. Such additional scrutiny or safety precautions are designed to protect the public from serious accidents from the material being transported such as this.
Let us hope that the Houston area Hazmat teams get a break from truck accidents next year.
Greg Baumgartner is a Houston truck accident lawyer and the founder of the Baumgartner law firm, which is dedicated to helping injury victims seek civil justice. For a free no obligation consultation with an 18 wheeler accident lawyer in Houston call the Baumgartner firm.
