New York State Police have investigated a tractor-trailer fire on Insterstate 81. Monday night, a tractor-trailer caught fire in the town of Lisle just before 8 o’clock, on the shoulder of the northbound lanes of I-81.
Police responded to the scene to find the vehicle completely engulfed in flames. 56-year-old Clarence Phelps of Watertown was driving the truck when he saw flames coming from the passenger side of the vehicle. He pulled to the shoulder and attempted to extinguish the fire. The Marathon Fire Department responded and put out the fire.
Thirty horses, which were being transported from Pennsylvania to Quebec, died in the flames. The preliminary investigation indicates that the fire started after a passenger side fuel tank malfunctioned.
The New York State Department of Transportation and the Broome County Sheriff’s Office assisted State Police at the scene.
