Trailer load of clothes destroyed in semi fire

Cloverdale firefighters douse what remains of a semi trailer that caught fire at the 31-mile marker of Interstate 70 Thursday night. The trailer and the clothes it was hauling were listed as a total loss.

State Police photo

PUTNAMVILLE -- A semi driver escaped injury Thursday night when the trailer he was hauling on Interstate 70 in western Putnam County caught fire and was destroyed in the blaze.

Ervin Mitchell, 48, of Douglasville, Ga., was westbound on I-70 near the Putnam-Clay county line when he discovered the trailer he was towing was on fire near the 31-mile marker near the Putnamville exit.

Indiana State Police at Putnamville said the trailer, loaded with clothing and owned by J & G Freight of Bolingbrook, Ill., was a total loss. The fire was blamed on the trailer brakes.

Cloverdale Fire Department units responded to the scene just after 6:45 p.m. Thursday, arriving at the scene to find “a fully involved semi fire.” Jefferson Township units were also summoned to the scene at the 31-mile marker, 10 miles west of Cloverdale.

Mitchell was able to disconnect the box trailer from the 2007 Volvo tractor he was driving, saving the semi cab from any damage.

Traffic was rerouted at U.S. 231 for alternate routes with Curtis Wrecker Service called to affect removal of the trailer.

Several Indiana State Police troopers on the scene dueing the fire and the clean-up.

The westbound lanes of I-70 were closed to traffic for approximately 3-1/2 hours, reopening just after 11:30 p.m.