Sainsbury’s to investigate why delivery lorry burst into flames
An investigation is to take place after a Sainsbury's delivery lorry caught alight[1] and became a blazing inferno on a narrow road used by Somerset residents travelling into Devon. The supermarket has announced that it will be launching an investigation into the fire that destroyed the lorry carrying timber and plastic.
The incident happened on Tuesday morning (July 25) shortly before 9am on Exeter Road, just off the A30 near Ottery St Mary. Both lanes of traffic[2] were affected. It is not yet known what caused the fire, or whether anybody was injured as a result, reports DevonLive[3]. The road was closed all day and reopened overnight.
Devon County Council urged motorists to seek alternative routes as fire crews from Ottery St Mary, Honiton, Middlemoor and Danes Castle tackled the blaze. A spokesperson for Devon and Somerset Fire[4] said: "Crews got to work using 4 breathing apparatus, 2 hose reel and 2 foam jets."
The road was closed from A30 (Daisy Mount Cross) to Strawberry Lane, with the incident causing a lot of congestion in the area into the afternoon. At around 11am yesterday morning, Devon County Council advised residents that the road would be closed "for several more hours".
"Please follow diversions and allow extra time for your journey," it said.
Photos taken at the scene of the Ottery St Mary lorry fire yesterday (July 25) (Image: Ottery St Mary Fire Station)
After the fire was put out, the lorry needed to be recovered and the road was to be assessed for any fire damage.
Devon Alert, the official Twitter account for Devon County Council Highways alerts, tweeted shortly after 10pm last night: "#Devon we are pleased to advise that this road has now reopened. Thank you for your patience."
Some reports indicated that a second HGV had been involved in the incident, forcing the Sainsbury's lorry into a ditch. However, Sainsbury's said only one vehicle was involved, reports DevonLive[6].
A spokesperson for the UK supermarket giant said: "Emergency services were called to a road traffic incident on the B3174 [yesterday] morning and we’ll be investigating what happened."
Photos taken at the scene of the Ottery St Mary lorry fire yesterday (July 25) (Image: Ottery St Mary Fire Station)
The spokesperson added that the driver of the lorry was unharmed and that no other parties were involved.
According to reports from Straitgate Action Gp[7], the lorry was forced off the road after passing a HGV travelling in the opposite direction. They argue this latest incident shows "there is insufficient width on parts of this road for HGVs to comfortably pass each other".
Click here[8] for more traffic and travel news from SomersetLive.
References
- ^ Sainsbury's delivery lorry caught alight (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ traffic (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ reports DevonLive (www.devonlive.com)
- ^ Devon and Somerset Fire (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ Lorry trailer carrying timber and plastic goes up in flames in Somerset (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ DevonLive (www.devonlive.com)
- ^ Straitgate Action Gp (straitgateactiongroup.blogspot.com)
- ^ Click here (www.somersetlive.co.uk)