Investigators Probing AL River Barge Blaze

May 7, 2018
Investigators are probing a barge fire Sunday on the Mobile River that took firefighters and the Coast Guard over seven hours to tame.

May 07 -- The cause of Sunday's major barge fire on the Mobile River is still under investigation. 

Units from the Mobile Fire Department and the Coast Guard fought for more than seven and half hours Sunday attempting to put out a major fire on board a barge on the Mobile River. 

After the initial emergency call was made at a little before 10 a.m., a large cloud of toxic smoke could be seen rising up into the sky beside the Cochrane Bridge. The plume could be seen from as far away as Fairhope in Baldwin County, while people in the city of Mobile were forced cover their months and eyes from the smoke.

Firefighters at the scene told AL.com that the barge was in fact two connected barges, carrying wrecked vehicles. It's not known if the vehicles still contained any fuel. Many of the cars, which had been flattened, still had their tires attached.

After bringing the fire under control, firefighters boarded the barge in an attempt to completely extinguish the flames, which were easily visible from the shore. However, after more than an hour of pumping water down into the barge, firefighters left the barge. Many of the fires that had been put out reignited.

A short time after, Mobile Fire Department continued spraying water and aqueous foam on the fire, which reduced the flames significantly and brought the blaze under control.

No injuries were reported and an investigation is underway to determine what started the fire.

___ (c)2018 Alabama Media Group, Birmingham Visit Alabama Media Group, Birmingham at www.al.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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