Truck Fire Shuts Down Mass Pike Connector Tunnel
BOSTON (CBS) -- A truck fire temporarily closed the Eastbound side of the Mass Pike Connector Tunnel Monday afternoon, severely impacting travel to Logan Airport.
"Due to a reported truck fire and First Responders on the scene, the I-90 eastbound connector tunnel is closed in Boston," MassDOT said in a statement.
The Boston Fire Department responded to the tunnel around 12:50 p.m. They said nobody was injured in the fire.
Video ---> truck fire earlier on I-90 eastbound in Boston. Fire is extinguished and truck removed, @massdot crews now clearing tunnel. pic.twitter.com/660oNg8FvR
— Patrick Marvin (@pmarvin123) August 28, 2017
Smoke could be seen coming from the vents leading from the tunnel.
Massachusetts State Police said the truck was fully engulfed in flames, prompting them to close all lanes leading to the tunnel's Eastbound side.
The tunnel's Westbound side was also briefly closed because of heavy smoke conditions but was reopened shortly after.
Great vent system in tunnel. Monitoring air quality and CO readings negative.
— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) August 28, 2017
Boston Fire crews used saws to open the back of the truck and get to the fire, which they said was coming from where the trash was stored.
Still working to open up back of truck . Ongoing pic.twitter.com/ktDX75JT99
— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) August 28, 2017
Crews towed the truck out of the tunnel, then emptied and extinguished its contents.
After the truck was removed, crews remained to clear debris as well as the foam used to put out the flames and reopened the highway.
The cause of the fire wasn't yet known.