New Straits Times
Thursday, Nov 29, 2012
BEHRANG, Malaysia - If the acrid smoke wasn't bad enough, the load of curry powder in a blazing trailer lorry on the North-South Expressway meant firemen and bystanders alike were left gasping for breath and smarting eyes.
For seven hours, the firemen battled the blaze at Km389 of the North-South Expressway (NSE) before extinguishing it.
The lorry was travelling from Ipoh to Selayang, Selangor, carrying hundreds of packets of curry powder when it caught fire at 11.15pm on Tuesday. It is understood that a rear tyre burst and caused a spark.
Noticing that the vehicle had caught fire, driver P. Mohandass, 22, and his 29-year-old assistant S. Rammurthy managed to pull into the emergency lane of the expressway and alighted without injury.
"We contacted the firemen after our attempts to douse the fire with a portable extinguisher failed.
"The flames spread fast and produced a lot of smoke," said Rammurthy.
A Tanjung Malim Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said a team of 10 firemen in two engines arrived at the scene at 11.35pm and managed to control the blaze by spraying water.
"Since there was no open water source in the area, the firemen had to travel back and forth from the scene and the nearest water source more than 10 times to replenish their water supply.
"This prolonged the time taken to extinguish the blaze."
He said although the curry products produced a stinging and pungent smoke, it was not flammable. The fire probably spread because of the product's packaging in box cartons and plastic.
"However, the source of the blaze is still being investigated," he said.
The spokesman said efforts to clean up debris from the site carried on until 3pm yesterday with the use of a lorry and tractor.
PLUS Expressway Bhd workers helped avert road congestion by directing traffic flow.
