INDOT truck hits mattress, catches fire

[dodge freak]

Gotta love these "green energy" ideas. Run the truck on compressed natural gas, it be so Earth Friendly..till it catches on fire and burns, lol (Indy also wants all city vehicles to be electric by 2020, lets see how that works out)

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/...-fire-closes-interstate-465-on-southwest-side

INDIANAPOLIS - Southbound Interstate 465 is moving slowly on Indianapolis' southwest side after a highway truck hit a loose mattress and caught fire Monday.

The crash happened in the southbound lanes just before 11:30 a.m. near Sam Jones Expressway, north of Interstate 70.

Smoke could be seen billowing from the scene, but the fire looked to be under control by noon.

The Indiana Department of Transportation vehicle was powered by compressed natural gas.

Two other cars collided in the aftermath

A Wayne Township Fire Department vehicle was also believed to have been involved, but that turned out not to be the case.

No injuries were reported.

 

[cudavert]

But how is it being powered by CNG related to the fire?

 

[70aarcuda]

Being a retire NDOT worker...I hope that everyone in the truck woke up in time to get out...

yes..out here in Nevada our wonderful state legislature said that 50% of the new trucks bought by NDOT must be alternative fuel....first there was cnc which ran like ****...backfire and blew the air cleaner box off..

then propane..which actually worked pretty good..I had a brand new 2004 F150 dual fuel (propane/gas) from the factory...only problem i had was the cross over switch quit working, and i could only run it on gas...had to take it back to the dealer to get fixed..and it always smelled like propane...

Now they are buying Bio diesel trucks...Politicians sure like to spend other people money on these wonderful ideas

 

[crackedback]

Being a retire NDOT worker...I hope that everyone in the truck woke up in time to get out...

ROTFLMAO. :cheers:

 

[dodge freak]

But how is it being powered by CNG related to the fire?

Ch 8 has a better photo and more infor...isn't it just common sense its the compressed gas, who ever heard of a big truck being taken out by a mattress ? (I know no mattress could stop my old ride, lol...now that other 2008 air bag pos saturn car, yeah, that be a major collision in that car)

http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/local/marion_county/truck-burns-on-i-465-on-west-side

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - An Indiana Department of Transportation truck went up in flames Monday morning after striking a mattress in the middle of the highway.

A natural gas line on the truck was ruptured by the collision, sparking the fire that sent dark smoke into the area on the west side.

Southbound lanes of Interstate 465 were closed near Sam Jones Expressway but have since reopened.

Wayne Township Fire Department officials said no injuries were reported, despite two cars colliding near the incident.

 

[pauly v.100]

But how is it being powered by CNG related to the fire?

So OP, are you suggesting that it caught fire because it was CNG powered as opposed to either gas or diesel? Couldn't a gas line or diesel line get ruptured also?

 

[67Dart273]

...isn't it just common sense its the compressed gas, .

Maybe, maybe not. Gasoline "can" be considered far more dangerous in one way than LP gas because gasoline has a much wider range of A/F of ignition/ combustion, AND gasoline produces more energy per pound than LP which means if a tank explodes, you get a "bigger bang" per size of tank than with LP

Since this here is gaseous NG, not liquified, it might be a little harder to equate into these comparisons. CNG obviously operates at MUCH higher pressure than LP, so I admit that might be a concern.

But if you're so worried, remember that U.S. manufacturers never worried about YOUR safety until dragged kicking and screaming before the Federal Govt.

"We" all remember the Pintoeds with the tank at the rearmost of the car, and worse, if you were in the back seat, your eggshell of a skull was against the rear window!!!! Neighbor of mine is refurbing a 69? Stang, there's a big hole in the trunk floor, until I realized that the FUEL TANK is what FILLS THAT HOLE!!! There is nothing between "it" and "you" but a nice combustible rear seat!!!!

And for years and YEARS some pickups had the fuel tanks right in the cab with ya.

So what's the answer?

I don't know.

Trucks and trains carry tons of hazardous, dangerous, explosive "stuff" around every day, never mind the fuel system

 

[rlevs]

The cng is used on many vehicals now a day along with propane. the ups and fed-ex truck in the detroit metro area are run on them and some of the diesel pick up trucks add the propane on to them to incrace gas milage

 

[cudavert]

I'm around CNG every day at work.....we use it on our buses. The tanks are filled up to just under 4000 PSI, then there's a regulator that drops it down to about 110 and that's what the engine breathes in. The tanks are mounted on the roof and there are THICK stainless hard lines that route down to the engine compartment. It's gotten really safe. The tank manufacturer even has videos of them shooting a fully pressurized tank with a gun, over and over and it doesn't blow.

Although we've had some fires on our buses, it's usually not related to the natural gas system.....unless you include the fact that these engines run really hot, compared to diesels. Most of our fires are electrical in nature, or a blown hydraulic line spraying onto a hot turbo. We DID have a bus that ran over a mattress, box spring actually.....dragged it, made tons of sparks and burned that bus to the ground!