Several days ago, a very dangerous incident occurred on the A4 motorway. It was spotted by SPPP police officers from Legnica who were travelling to the Zgorzelec County area to report for duty. – Clouds of smoke and fire were coming from a lorry on the hard shoulder, while the driver was trying to save his belongings – reports asp. szt. Monika Kaleta from the Press Section of the Provincial Police Headquarters in Wrocław. – The officers immediately ran over to him to move him to a safe place. They also stopped traffic on the motorway in both directions and ordered approaching vehicles to stop at a safe distance.
They also notified their duty officer and called emergency services to the scene.
The officers also began trying to stop the fire from spreading, using extinguishers from their service vehicles. The spokesperson said: – Other drivers who were standing nearby helped them and provided their fire extinguishers. Using the CB radio of one of the lorry drivers whose vehicle was stuck in the traffic jam, the officers announced that more extinguishers were needed. Cooperation with road users was immediate, and the police obtained another 25 extinguishers to continue saving the vehicle and the goods it was carrying.
At the same time, they noticed that the fire had also reached nearby cultivated fields, so they decided to extinguish the flames there as well. Aspirant szt. M. Kaleta:
The grass was very dry, and wheat was growing in the field. In addition, strong wind made the firefighting operation more difficult. The fire could spread very easily and quickly. Every second counted.
The officers also took care of the safety of drivers and vehicles that were standing too close to the burning lorry. (Several tyres on the lorry exploded.) The vehicles were moved to other parking positions.
Just before the firefighters arrived, the police helped create an emergency corridor so that the services could reach the scene of the incident as quickly as possible.
The spokesperson concluded:
Fortunately, no one was hurt or suffered any injuries in the entire incident. By the time the Fire Service arrived, the spread of the fire to the cultivated fields had been stopped and the safety of drivers on the A4 motorway had been ensured. The fire in the lorry had also been partially extinguished.