Trucker Loses Cab in Fire on Western New Brunswick Highway

A truck driver from Plaster Rock, New Brunswick who was hauling wood chips in his tractor-trailer, got a big scare Monday afternoon when his cab burst into flames on the Trans-Canada Highway near Saint-Léonard.

According to a report from Acadie Nouvelle, the driver realized something was wrong when his dashboard lights began to flash, so he pulled off the highway into a weigh station at Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes.

Nelson Fox of the Public Safety Department in Saint-Léonard tells us the driver opened the hood of his cab and immediately called 911 when he saw the flames.

Firefighters from Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska arrived quickly at the scene around 3:15 p.m., Fox said. Amidst strong, gusty winds, the crew was able to extinguish the blaze before it reached the truck's fuel tanks or its highly combustible load.

The truck's cab was completely destroyed. Fox said the exact cause of the fire is unknown at this point.  No one was injured.