Lorry fire - A14 - South Cambs

05/08/2021 9.04AM

At 9.04am on Thursday (5) crews were called to a fire on the A14. 

More than 30 firefighters, including crews from Cambridge, Burwell, Sawston and Cottenham attended the incident. They were joined by crews from Newmarket, Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill in Suffolk.

Firefighters arrived to find a fire involving a lorry containing furniture and household items on the westbound carriageway between Quy and Milton. 

The A14 was closed to ensure crews could tackle the fire safely, but has now reopened. 

The lorry has been relocated to a nearby recycling centre to ensure it is safe and the fire is fully extinguished.

Update - 7.30pm

Following a reinspection by crews the fire is fully extinguished and the vehicle is safe

Station Commander Vinnie Crook, the officer in charge of the incident, said: “Firstly I want to thank members of the public that were travelling on the A14 today for their patience. It’s never ideal to be stuck in traffic for any length of time, particularly when the weather is hot, and having to sit for long periods, or take long diversions, is frustrating. We did our best to get the incident resolved as quickly as possible and our crews did a fantastic job and worked really hard to put the fire out.

“We had some great help from our partners over the border in Suffolk, using their COBRA Coldcut high pressure fire hose equipment to extinguish deep seated fires and we also had fantastic support from Cambridgeshire Police Rural Crime Action Team (RCAT) from who helped with the road closures and ensuring our fire engines could get to the scene. 

“This was a challenging incident but the initial crews that attended acted quickly to ensure the fire didn’t get out of control. Once we were confident the fire was mostly out and safe to move, we worked with local recovery firm Manchetts to transport the vehicle to a safe place, allowing us to reopen the road. Sadly much of the content of the lorry, which contained possessions belonging to people moving home, was lost. 

“Once the fire was out we explored how it could have started. The damage to the trailer was quite severe, which meant pinpointing a cause was difficult. However, we are confident it was not suspicious and started accidentally. Luckily the driver didn’t suffer any injuries.”