Vehicle Fire Pulls a Full Hazmat Response

Last week, 9-1-1 dispatch was notified of a possible vehicle fire at the intersection of Everett and Julia in Fire District 9. Within minutes, reports of another vehicle fire was noted one block south. One engine company was dispatched to each location. Shortly before arrival, Engine Co. 94 identified a heavy black column of smoke coming from the reported address. E94 arrived and found a fully involved vehicle and utility trailer. Additional resources were added to the call as firefighters began charging multiple hose lines.
After identifying the contents of the trailer (gardening equipment and approximately 100 gallons of gasoline), crews quickly realized that the foam and water used to put out the blaze was not effective. Incident Command then requested a full hazmat response and the Department of Ecology to help limit the damage of the fire and fuel spilled.
Approximately 30 minutes later, firefighters were able to extinguish the fire in the truck, but were forced to moniter the fire in the trailer from a distance and let the fuel burn itself out.
Crews were able to pull a vin number from the vehicle to help identify the registered owner. An investigation into the cause is currently underway. No one was injured.