Firefighters work to put out a truck fire along Highway 42 at Range Road 275 near Penhold on Friday. (Penhold Fire Department)

By rdnewsNOW staff

Suspicious Fire

RCMP investigating suspicious vehicle fire near Penhold

Nov 22, 2019 | 2:42 PM

RCMP are investigating what’s considered to be a suspicious vehicle fire east of Penhold that forced the closure of Highway 42 for over an hour on Friday.

Chief Jim Pendergast says 15 firefighters, four fire units, a command unit and Public Works crews from the Town of Penhold responded to the blaze at Highway 42 and Range Road 275 at 11:13 a.m.

He says crews arrived to find a pickup truck with two full auxiliary fuel tanks in the box fully involved in flames.

Penhold acting fire lieutenant Bailey McKay says they immediately shut down the highway and attacked the fire with a specialty firefighting foam.

“The firefighters did a great job and the fire was quickly brought under control,” says McKay. “We used a thermal imaging camera to make sure the fuels did not re-ignite. We were then able to open up traffic to a single lane alternating east/west until about 12:20 p.m.”

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Although one firefighter did suffer minor injuries which did not require medical treatment, Pendergast says there were no injuries and no one on the scene when they initially arrived.

Pendergast says the truck suffered heavy damage.