Semi fire shuts down eastbound Interstate 696 near Farmington Hills
(CBS DETROIT) - Monday morning rush hour traffic saw delays in the Farmington Hills-Southfield area because of an emergency situation on Interstate 696.
All eastbound lanes of I-696 after I-275, in Oakland County, were reported blocked shortly after 4 a.m. because of a tractor-trailer fire, the Michigan Department of Transportation reported. Motorists who got caught in the backup reported waits of an hour or more.
Eastbound drivers could get back on the freeway at Orchard Lake Road.
While crews are still working to determine the cause of the fire, a preliminary investigation points to it starting near the back of the semi's trailer.
"We're looking at the rear of the trailer is where the fire may have started, where that rear axel is, which isn't uncommon for a semi-truck to have some rear axel issues," said Farmington Hills Fire Marshal Jason Baloga.
Baloga said the amount of product that spilled onto the freeway, limited water access and towing the semi all played a role in the amount of time it took to clean up this fire.
"A lot of the product on that trailer did spill out onto the freeway," he said. "Additionally, you can't just drive that truck off the freeway. You have to unload the entire truck, clean up the freeway, and then clear it, so to tow that vehicle they had to unload it first.
"There is a challenge there on the freeway because there's no water supply, so they actually initiated a water shuttle with two other engines. They went back and forth from Orchard Lake Road to refill their tanks and extinguish the fire."
Baloga acknowledged that this response took a little longer than normal and impacted commutes. He says he appreciates all the patience from drivers who may have been a little late to work because of it.
In an unrelated incident reported by MDOT at 6:47 a.m., a crash resulted in only the right lane open on westbound I-696 at Southfield Road.
Traffic reports are available at MI Drive.
