Story and Photos by
JASON R. HENSKE

Memorial day travelers on heavily used Vermont Route 9 West, which runs between Brattleboro and Bennington VT were held up for several hours after a tractor trailer caught fire at the Brattleboro/Marlboro town line Friday May 24, 2002.

The truck, driven by Larry Renda of Niagara Falls, NY was traveling east on Rte 9 when witnesses say they heard a loud pop, much like a tire exploding. The truck came to a stop, with the tractorıs rear tires on fire.

The fire rapidly spread to the trailer, which contained large rolls of industrial paper.

Firefighters from Brattleboro and Marlboro responded just after 2:30, to find the forward section of the trailer well involved.

Firefighting was made difficult by the densely stacked rolls of paper crammed into the trailer from floor to ceiling.

Firefighters applied water and Class A foam in an effort to penetrate the dense material and smother fires in the spaces between the paper rolls.

The fire was contained, and controlled by 4:30, with automobile traffic diverted on rural roads around the accident.

Truck traffic, too large to travel on the side roads, was allowed to move through the site at approximately 5pm.

Wreckers arrived on the scene at approximately 5:30 and removed the still smoldering paper from the collapsed trailer.

Brake fires are a common occurrence on Rte 9, which winds its way through the mountains with sometimes steep inclines. Fires of this magnitude are rare, however.