TOWER- Black smoke billowed here late last Thursday afternoon when a UPS truck caught fire while driving through Tower on its return from a day of deliveries. Both the Tower and Breitung fire departments were on the scene of the Greenwood cabin fire at the time, but Breitung left that scene to respond to the call in Tower. The Cook Fire Department also responded, getting there only minutes after Breitung.
Ely Ambulance also responded to the scene in case medical care was needed, because the Tower Ambulance was on scene at the Greenwood cabin fire.
“The engine and cab of the truck were fully engulfed when we got there,” said Breitung Chief Trevor Banks. “We were able to get the fire out really quickly.”
The truck had pulled over on Hwy. 169 right in front of Zup’s Foods, attracting a crowd of onlookers wrapping up shopping for the day. A nearby parked SUV was also damaged by the fire.
Banks said the truck driver got out safely, and said he thought the brakes had started the fire “He said he had hit the brakes and the pedal went right to the floor and then it started smoking.”
Greenwood Fire had also responded to and quickly suppressed an unattended brush fire near County Rd. 77 on Monday (which was showing up on the Watch Duty fire app). High winds also knocked over a power line in Kugler Township, which the DNR and other local departments responded to and contained before any fire occurred.