In this incident, on December 10th, 2020, Washington State Patrol contacted us requesting a Class C truck for a tractor and trailer involved in a fire. Team Pro-Enviro responded with the requested Class C heavy-duty crane-style wrecker and set out for the scene.
Accident Recovery
Once we arrived, it quickly became clear that the trailer was not in towable condition. The fire had damaged the tires, floor, walls, and axels of the trailer. Quite a bit of cleanup and salvage was needed.
We initially sent for a heavy-duty flatbed trailer with a converter dolly but found the driver had a converter dolly all ready. Still, we realized that using the converter dolly wasn’t an option if we wanted to salvage the trailers and avoid more damage. So, our team decided the only safe way to do so was to load it onto the commercial flatbed and use the converter dolly as support.
Once all the equipment arrived, we carefully loaded the trailer onto the flatbed. On route back to the yard, our escort truck noticed smoke coming from the trailer. We quickly pulled over and found that the casualty was on fire. Again.
The source of the fire was the battery box, and we used three fire extinguishers to put out the fire. Next, we cut and secured the electrical connections from the battery box, hoping to avoid another fire. Once safely at the yard, our team secured the trailer and placed it on two retention ponds. Our work would continue later.
Cargo Salvage
The trailer was carrying food and other perishable items. Unfortunately, the cargo was quickly becoming a health hazard as it started spoiling after a few days.
We contacted Ryder, DPI specialty foods, and Travelers Insurance to create a plan to upload and dispose of the items. All parties involved would sort through each item, log them, and then dispose of any perishables. Non-perishables would be brought into the facility to store temporarily.
Our team worked efficiently sorting through hundreds of boxes and ended up loading two full loads of perishable food for disposal. In addition, four pallets were non-perishable. We stored those and a few empty pallets and miscellaneous debris in the trailer.
We worked hard to complete this accident recovery and cargo salvage. Count on Team Pro-Enviro for your cargo salvage needs.
