Flaming Chemical-Carrying Truck Closes I-495 In Andover: Police

ANDOVER, MA — A chemical fire in a tractor-trailer shut down a section of I-495 North for several hours Monday, gnarling traffic and prompting air quality concerns. A HazMat team was among the responders in what was a meticulous handling of a potentially dangerous situation. All lanes were reopened after 1 a.m. Tuesday morning, about 12 hours after the whole thing started.

There were severe delays on 495 North and I-93 North from the mid-afternoon into the early evening.

No injuries were reported. There were air quality concerns as police ordered media helicopters away from directly above the scene, but no issued were detected.

Once the fire went out, responders had to wait for two barrels containing hazardous material to cool. They were then removed. It is unknown what the chemical was.

Patch will update this story

Photo courtesy of State Police