ARLINGTON, Texas — A tractor-trailer truck caught fire on an Arlington road on Friday morning, shutting down lanes while crews worked to put it out.
The incident was reported around 10:30 a.m. on northbound Matlock Road, near Green Oaks Boulevard, in South Arlington. Helicopter footage showed the burning cab of a semi-truck as firefighters worked to douse the fire.
LaRhonda Carroll was inside her salon when she heard the truck go up in flames and decided to investigate.
"I just saw a huge flame and smoke everywhere," said LaRhonda Carroll, "at first I could not even tell what it was at first."
When Carroll looked outside she noticed people running away from the fire for their safety. Immediately, she evacuated employees and customers, but learned they could still be in harm's way.
"We moved our cars to the parking lot on the other side of the building. But then the firemen and police told us we need to move across the street because this could possibly explode," Carroll said.
Witness photos and video showed the front of the truck was fully engulfed in flames. Here's the witness video received by WFAA:
The threat on South Matlock Rd also led to evacuations at this nearby Walgreens.
Lt. Adam Evans serves as the public information officer for the Arlington Fire Department. He was nearby and knew right away the large response meant something bad had happened. He also learned that the AFD Hazmat Unit also responded to the truck fire.
"Until we know exactly what we are dealing with as far as contents of these trucks and transport vehicles, as a precaution when they are burning like that, we will evacuate a small area," said Lt. Adam Evans.
Firefighters learned the truck had pallets stacked with bags of Fertilizer in the back. The cargo also included boxes of chemical products. Despite the cab of the truck being torched by the flames, the fire did not reach the cargo area of the truck. The fire was confined to the cab where the fire department described the vehicle as having a natural gas tank as part of its engine.
"Luckily the tanks did their job. They have a pop-off valve and they bled out," Lt. Adam Evans said.
No injuries have been reported in the fire.
"I've never seen anything like that ever. It was scary, very scary," said Carroll.
The driver is OK and how his truck caught fire is under investigation.