Extinguishing Semi Truck On Fire Blocked By Frozen Hydrants: Aurora FD

AURORA, IL — It took Aurora Fire Department crews more than four hours to put out a semi-trailer truck that caught fire around midnight Tuesday at a manufacturing facility in the 1000 block of Sullivan Road, officials.

A total of 41 firefighters were called to the scene since the fire was fast-moving and hydrants were frozen due to the frigid temperatures, officials said. In Aurora, Tuesday saw a high of 9 degrees and low of minus 5.

The semi, loaded with combustible materials, was parked in the loading dock, spreading flames to that part of the building. To extinguish the exterior fire, Engine Company crews deployed multiple hose lines and attacked the fire in the loading dock while protecting interior exposures, officials said, to prevent it from spreading further.

At the same time, Truck Company crews used aerial master streams to extinguish the fire from above.

Eventually, officials said, the city provided the fire department with an end loader used to move the trailer away from the building and open it up to "spread the burning contents on the ground, allowing the house streams to extinguish the fire fully."

In the four hours at the scene, firefighters succeeded in containing the fire to the building and preventing a "significant loss" to the company.

Two people were hospitalized after the fire, officials said. One employee from he company wasbrought to a ho spital in good condition to be treated for smoke inhalation. A firefighter was released from the hospital after being treated for minor smoke inhalation.

Although the building was turned over to management, the fire remains under investigation, officials said.