Truck Fire on Interstate at Effingham

A truck driven by a Texas man was damaged by fire along the interstate at Effingham Thursday morning.

Effingham firefighters were called to the scene at the US Route 45 interchange along northbound I-57/eastbound I-70 at 7:39am. Effingham Assistant Fire Chief Matt Kulesza said the unit was a dually pickup truck pulling a trailer carrying a sea/land container with construction tools inside. The driver, from Hurst, Texas, got out of the vehicle unharmed. The vehicle is owned by Direct and Direct Tranport of St. Louis, MO. 

Kulesza said the unit had left St. Louis Thursday morning and was traveling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

(WHAT A LOT OF PEOPLE SAW FROM THE SCENE THURSDAY MORNING)

Firefighters closed the off-ramp to use it as a location to fight the fire and keep the interstate open. 

Illinois State Police, IDOT and Effingham city police assisted at the scene. Firefighters were on scene for about 40 minutes.