May 19, 2018 – Town of Polk, WI – On May 19, 2018 at approximately 11:43 am the Washington County Sheriff’s Office was notified by multiple 911 callers of a Walmart semi-truck and trailer that was on fire on the off ramp from I41 north bound to County Trunk FD in the Town of Polk.
The Jackson Fire Department was immediately paged and upon arrival of the first deputy the cab of the semi was fully engulfed.
An investigation into the fire determined that the driver, a 63-year-old New Lisbon resident was north bound on I41 when the front passenger side tire had a blowout.
The driver was able to safely guide the semi to the Cty Tk FD off ramp where he found the tire had started on fire.
The driver attempted to extinguish the flames with the assistance of a passerby and several fire extinguishers but was unsuccessful. The semi cab is considered to be a total loss. The semi-trailer which was carrying pallets had moderate damage to the front half.
During the investigation the Washington County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Wisconsin State Patrol in shutting down the ramp to Cty Tk FD from I41 north bound. The ramp remained closed for approximately two hours to assist the firefighting efforts of the Jackson Fire Department and cleanup of the ramp. There were no injuries as a result of the fire.
Photo courtesy Jackson Fire Department