Tuesday March 19th, 2024 7:37AM

Fire chief credits firefighters for preventing explosion

WINDER - Barrow County's Interim Fire Chief credited firefighters with preventing a potential disaster Monday morning.

Chief John Skinner said the 7:35 a.m. 911 call involved a vehicle fire between Winder and Arcade on Finch Road. Firefighters found a tractor trailer with heavy fire in the cab.

"There was a high chance of an explosion happening or a larger scale fire happening in this situation," fire Lt. Scott Dakin said.

Although the department didn't identify the cargo, Skinner said it was explosive.

"They risked their own lives to bring the fire under control in order to prevent the cargo from exploding and creating a larger disaster. I am very proud of the dedication of the men and women in this department and this call is a great example of why," Skinner said.

Those men and women were with engines 1 and 6, Med 6 and Battalion 1. They used foam to fight the blaze, a small fire that had ignited in the front of the trailer.

"We look at, 'ok, what's going to be the best possible scenario for us to handle this situation,' and in this case it was for firefighters to put their lives at risk and go in and extinguish the fire," Dakin said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the department's fire investigations team.
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