DPS: Truck and Trailer Fire Extinguished by Wall VFD Volunteers Before Chemical Barrels Were Compromised

SAN ANGELO, TX — A dual cab pickup hauling a trailer burst into flames Thursday afternoon at the intersection of FM 1223 and S. Loop 306. The Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office said contents of the trailer are hazardous.

All lanes are blocked and closed off after the incident happened at around 4:20 p.m.

The Wall VFD is approaching the fire carefully while Sheriff’s deputies close off traffic.

The pickup appears to be a Ram 2500 or 3500 and is destroyed by flames.

We'll have more as the story develops.

Update 6:22 p.m.

The truck was on FM 1223 and the driver observed a fire starting inside the engine compartment of his 2013 Chevrolet pickup. The pickup was towing a trailer that had six barrels of two different types of chemicals, DPS stated. The driver called 9-1-1 from his cell phone as he abandoned the vehicle.

When the first responders arrived, the type of chemicals in the barrels in the trailer was unknown to them. Emergency communications sent out a warning about hazardous materials, or hazmat, as a precaution.

Trooper Jason McMillan, who is a DPS Commercial Motors Enforcement officer, said chemicals are regulated at various levels by laws. In this case, neither chemical was regulated, posing a smaller risk than anticipated or feared by the unknown.

The Wall VFD arrived quickly and extinguished the truck fire before the flames could affect the chemicals in the trailer, McMillan said.

DPS emphasized that no barrel containing the chemicals was compromised.

The incident will not require a crash report or a hazmat report, according to law, McMillan said. There were no citations.