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Maintenance vehicle catches fire at Midway International Airport

Maintenance vehicle destroyed by fire at Midway International Airport
Maintenance vehicle destroyed by fire at Midway International Airport 01:30

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A maintenance vehicle caught fire mid-field at Midway International Airport Tuesday afternoon.

Airport officials said the vehicle was being driven by an electrician when it caught fire. No one was injured.

The vehicle was burning at 4:45 p.m. along the side of runway 31R at Midway. A plume of black smoke billowed up from the vehicle.

Fire crews rushed to the scene to put the fire out. The fire proved to be stubborn, going on burning as hose streams doused it.

Fire crews later applied the dry chemical agent Purple-K to fight the fire. The firefighting foam covered the grass alongside the runway like snow.

Vehicle fire closes runway at Midway International Airport 00:56

The maintenance vehicle was destroyed by the fire and left completely charred.

No aircraft were involved in the fire, but runways 31R and 4L were closed for some time afterward. But no flights were affected, and the airport was back to normal by Tuesday evening.

CHECK: Midway Airport Information

STREAMING LIVE: Smoke at Midway Airport

A vehicle is on fire on the runway at Midway International Airport. Chopper 2 is on the scene to find out what’s going on. http://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/live

Posted by CBS Chicago on Tuesday, September 6, 2022
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