Tractor-trailer hauling 40,000 lbs of chicken catches fire on interstate

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A busy interstate is reopen after a tractor-trailer hauling chicken caught fire and caused a major mess in Cobb County.

The fire happened on Interstate 285 south at South Cobb Drive, which is exit 15, around 4 a.m. Tuesday.

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Cobb County fire and police blocked most of the interstate for hours as they worked to put out the flames.

Channel 2's Audrey Washington was the first reporter on the scene and learned that the trailer had 40,000 pounds of chicken inside.

Washington was live on Channel 2 Action News This Morning as crews cleaned up the charred debris on the road.

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The truck driver told Washington as soon as he saw flames coming out of this trailer, he pulled over. He said he tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher, but the fire was just too powerful.

The truck was hauling chicken from Georgia to Compton, California.

The spokesperson for Georgia Department of Transportation said that because the fire happened in “a non-peak direction,” there wasn’t such a major impact on traffic.

The truck company will look into the brake system on the truck to find out if that was the cause of the fire.

Cox Media Group