Thursday fire guts 18-wheeler's tractor
Dec. 2—A tractor-trailer sustained heavy damage in a fire Thursday evening at the Walmart on Whiskey Road, with no injuries resulting and the main focus now being on reduction of danger to a retention pond, according to an Aiken Department of Public Safety Report.
Lt. Daymon Spann, representing the agency, said the first emergency call came in at 7:57 p.m., and the driver was not in the truck at the time of the fire. The cargo was milled wood under the name of Schwaiger, a Germany-based company that produces a variety of timber products, and the truck was near the back of the building, on the side near the automotive center.
"The fire appears to be contained to just the tractor itself — not the product on the trailer," Spann said. He confirmed that hazardous materials became a prime concern, due to the location of a retention pond a few yards from where the fire occurred.
"At this point, it's still under investigation, but no indications of anything at this point to go on, and there's no ... danger to the community other than the haz-mat issue, which is being dealt with, and we have it contained here locally."
