The Cairo Volunteer Fire Department responded yesterday to a truck fire near the intersection of Lisbon and Mt. Holly Roads.
Ken Murphy, a volunteer firefighter for the Cairo VFD, said the dispatch call came in around noon yesterday and the department arrived within three or four minutes of receiving it. About eight firefighters in two company firetrucks and a tanker truck responded, he said.
“By the time they got there, it was totally engulfed,” Murphy said.
The Union County Sheriff’s Office also responded with two deputies. Sheriff Ricky Roberts said the vehicle was a 2005 Chevy Avalanche.
“The owner said he was driving and the truck started smoking,” Roberts said in a text message to a News-Times reporter. “He pulled over and the truck caught fire.”
Roberts said he doesn’t know the actual cause of the fire at this time but said it could have been related to the truck’s electrical systems.
Murphy said the Cairo VFD extinguished the fire but didn’t have the opportunity to speak with the truck’s owner. Roberts said the UCSO does not suspect foul play.
“It will be turned over to his insurance company to investigate,” Roberts said.