Firefighters extinguished a vehicle fire on a flatbed tow truck on the side of Interstate Highway 780 in Benicia late this morning.
The passenger car was being towed from the Point Reyes area to Pittsburg when the tow truck driver heard a loud pop from the vehicle as it was being towed on eastbound Highway 780 at the Southampton Road on-ramp around 11:45 a.m., Fire Division Chief K.C. Smith said.
The tow truck driver pulled over to the shoulder when he saw smoke and tried to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher, but he was pushed back by the rapidly growing fire, Smith said.
The fire engulfed the passenger car and ignited the rear of the tow truck and some vegetation along the roadside, according to Smith. I-780 was shut down while firefighters extinguished the flames in less than 25 minutes, Smith said.
The California Highway Patrol and Vallejo Fire Department assisted the Benicia Fire Department in its response to the fire.
--Bay City News
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