Tractor-trailer carrying ammonium nitrate catches fire on Arkansas highway

No injuries were reported after a tractor-trailer carrying 44,000 gallons of ammonium nitrate caught fire Tuesday afternoon on U.S. Highway 67 near Reyno, said a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management.

Whitney Green said none of the chemical escaped the truck and that only the truck’s tires, rims and brake pads caught fire. The emergency management department’s local coordinator reported the fire about 3:30 p.m., she said.

Firefighters from the Biggers-Reyno and Pocahontas departments helped extinguish the flames, Green said.

Brad Smithee, an official with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, said traffic had been blocked off a substantial distance away from the fire and that it was being diverted onto a county road west of the highway.

Ammonium nitrate is a component in some plant fertilizers. It’s normally a stable chemical, but when it’s exposed to fire, it can cause additional, uncontrollable fires or explosions, according to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board.

Fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate was stored at the West Fertilizer Company in West, Texas. Its plant exploded in April 2013, killing 15 people.

Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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