WESTFORD — State Police and local firefighters responded to a tractor-trailer fire Tuesday that left large piles of debris on Interstate 495 southbound.
The truck, carrying construction demolition debris, caught fire around 11 a.m. about a half-mile south of Boston Road near exit 83, causing a significant traffic backup, according to the Westford Fire Department and images captured at the scene.
All southbound lanes were closed about 11:30 a.m., but the left lane opened to allow through traffic about 10 minutes later, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Twitter page.
Because on-duty Westford officials were “busy handling several medical calls,” off-duty firefighters were called to respond to the fire, according to a press release from Fire Capt. Tim Bellemore. Two off-duty firefighters were the first to arrive, finding smoke and flames billowing from the truck’s trailer, he said.
Officials dumped the truck’s contents onto the road in order for firefighters to extinguish the blaze about 11:45 a.m. One State Police trooper was dispatched alongside eight Westford Fire personnel, a Westford ambulance and a third engine providing water “as there is no hydrant access on the highway,” Bellemore said.
The Chelmsford Fire Department covered the Westford station while officials were on scene. MassDOT assisted in putting out the fire.
No additional accidents or injuries were reported. The cause of the fire remains unknown.
The trailer was positioned on the shoulder, but fire trucks were partially blocking both the right and middle lanes as of about 1 p.m.
All travel lanes were reopened as of 4:18 p.m., MassDOT said in a tweet, warning of “significant residual delays” in traffic.
