What would you do?

Safety director here:

Cause of the fire: Brake(s) out-of-adjustment
Ruling: preventable.
Reason: failed to ensure brakes were adjusted correctly during pre-trip/post-trip inspection (which is required).

Further advise:
In the future...forget the airlines/electrical line...drop the landing gear, pull the fifth-wheel and jump in the driver seat pull out from underneath the trailer. The airline gladhands are meant to break away clean from the trailer...the electrical line...well the plug will be in the trailer and you will have wires to reconnect to a new pigtail end (been there done this twice in my career folks) in the future; BUT who gives a rats butt about a $15 part and having to reattach eight wires...just jump and and unhook. (advise if it happens to you or anyone else here).

 

You're lucky you weren't severely injured with that exploding tire. I surely can't tell you what to do since I'm not even on the road yet, but I'm glad it worked out how it did.

 

Always approach a tire fire at a 45 degree angle. That is to say never go straight in to the tire from the side, and not from the front or back.Same as a vehicle fire. Come in towards the corner of the car. Tires will blow outward from the side or straight back or forward. Cars usually erupt to the back or side. Try not to park under any power lines, and if possible away from any water. Run-off from the fire hoses will have product in it, and contamination of water can get extremely expensive.
Remember to keep traffic stopped at a good distance away.Notify the 911 caller of your cargo. Fertilizer,while normally not that dangerous, would trigger a larger initial response to the scene.
I carry 2 extinguishers.

 

I would have stopped asap, in the road if i had to providing its not a fast road. (if no shoulder near by) Grab my 5th wheel release if its safe to do so and pull out. Call 911. As said above, glad hands/ electrical will brake out. I'm not taking time to disconnect them. If trailer is on fire, I'll drop that trailer, forget about cranking landing gear. Assuming the fire doesn't destroy the trailer, landing gear can be replaced. If any flames were near cab, I'd just get out of the truck and let it burn to. Not worth risking my life to save equipment or my job. If my son was in the truck i would have him getting out of the truck as soon as it stopped and running away from it. I always keep safety vest ready in door pockets for me and my co driver so in an emergency we can get um quick. If I could, i'd get out my safety triangles, but i think people will see the flaming trailer. After i'm safely away from fire, I'd try to direct traffic around or stop them. Maybe if the fire is small enough I'd go back with an extinguisher. Fertilizer can flame up quick and get a lot worse.

But yea, I would never risk my life to save a truck. I also always check the trailer to make sure it is in good condition.

 

You did exactly what I would have tried. Getting your son away was priority one, and you made sure it happend.

I was at a service plaza on the Indiana toll road. A Yellow Freight truck had his rrar trailer driver side wheel on fire and while it was just batteries, he was still loaded with haz mat. I grabbed my fire ect. To help, the driver was nowhere to be seen. After I exhausted my ext. I went inside to get one of thierd, and who do I find at Mc D's..... The driver waiting for his food. Instead of warning the guys he was parked next to, which I did, or trying to drop the rear trailer to save the rest of the truck. I ask wth he is doing, he says dont worry I called the fire dept. I actually threw the extinguisher at him and hit him in the legs and yelled at the lazy knucklehead. Cops show up and fire dept. I told the cop what the driver did, and called his safety dept. That lazy donkey would have let two trucks beside him catch fire with the drivers sleeping, and allowed batteries to go, while he sat inside eating mcnuggets.

Sometimes I wonder why I care enough to try an help people.

 

Your post reminds me of something I saw at an auto parts store.

I am about to walk into the parts store when I see this kid standing in front of a car, engine running, has 2 spray cans going spraying down the engine. His girlfriend is standing beside him with long flowing blonde hair. As I walk by, I notice the 2 cans he is spraying is starter fluid. I snatch both cans from him and get in his face.

Six: HEY, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? ARE YOU TRYING TO DIE?

Kid: The guy behind the counter told me to do this to find a vacuum leak.

Six: WHO???

Kid: Him (points)

Six: (I take the 3rd can from the girl and hand it to him, top still on) Read this. Don't spray anything anymore. Just read.

I walk inside to the manager.

Six: Sir, there's a teenage kid outside spraying down a running engine with 2 cans of starter fluid.

Manager stops everything and looks alarmed. A customer asks, "Is trying to blow himself up?"

Six: No, he says your employee told him to do this to find a vacuum leak.

Mgr: Did you tell that kid to do that?

Employee: Yes, that's how you find a vacuum leak.

Six: so, you got a kid with a girlfriend with hair down to her butt standing in front of a hot, running engine, saturating it with something that's more flammable than gasoline.

Employee:......

Anyway, we do what we do because our conscience will not allow us to stand idle and watch someone get hurt. Good job on the Lazy Yellow.

 

If a brake hanging up, you would probably have seen some smoke coming out for a few miles.Not really prone to throwing a lot of sparks. If a seal leaking , should have been noticeable @ pre-trip.I know some ag companies run older equipment, possible tube-type tire ? They will start a fire if run flat. I would vote for no oil in the hub, bearing went out,ignited oil / grease residue due to heated metal. An exam of the wheel after it cooled down would tell the story.

 

What he said.

 

In either case, a leaking seal should be found during pretrip.