Snowplow catches fire on Interstate 90

Summer Crosby

Early Monday morning, around 10 a.m., Fire Chief Jerry Docketer was driving his snow plow behind Kevin Managhan’s plow when suddenly Managhan’s truck just blew up into flames in front of him.

“We were just plowing along and the next thing I knew the truck in front of me just blew up in flames,” he said. “I told the driver, Kevin, that it was on fire and he turned it toward the ditch and stepped out of it, letting it go into the ditch. Then, it just blew up. There was no even trying to stop it even with the snow and stuff.”

The incident happened up near mile marker 10 on Interstate 90, east of Lookout Pass. West End Volunteer Fire and Rescue Chief Bruce Charles said that as they approached the snow plow was entirely engulfed in flames.

“As we approached, they said that it was fully engulfed and one of the D.O.T. guys told up to be careful, that one fuel tank had gone and it looked like the other one was ready to go,” Charles said. “We stopped about 100 feet away from the truck and used a compressed air foam cannon on the front of it so we were able to shoot it from 100 feet away, initially knocking the fire down. We were then able to pull out another hose and get around the truck, hitting it from the other side and cooling down the second fuel tank while knocking down the fire so it wouldn’t reheat the tank.”

It is believed that the fire started when fluid ignited from a broken hydraulic line. The blaze gutted the cab of the truck and also burned the driver. Managhan suffered first-degree burns and possibly smoke and heat inhalation, but the injuries were non-life threatening and relatively minor.

Crews from both the West End Fire Department and St. Regis Fire Department responded to the call. Managhan is a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician in St. Regis.