A firetruck was engulfed in flames Sunday morning in Montreal’s West Island.
You may recognize the truck from the Lachute Santa Claus parade and the Hudson Saint-Patrick’s parade. But if you are from Halifax, you may recognize it from the 1990s, when it was in operation with the city’s fire department.
The vehicle is a retired 1990 E-One truck that was sold to a private owner in Montreal by the Halifax Regional Fire Department, according to a member of the Halifax Fire Department.
The owner had invested “a good deal of money” into restoring it and bringing it up to code, according to Montreal fire Chief David Shelton.
The man was driving back from camping with with his family when he experienced mechanical issues and noticed a smell. He then decided to pull over on the service road of Highway 40 near Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. At that point, the vehicle spontaneously caught fire.
Eight firefighters were on the scene along with a ladder truck and two pumps. They managed to extinguish the fire, but the vehicle is damaged beyond repair.
“The way it burned, it damaged all the compartments and the tires blew out,” Shelton told Global News. No injuries were reported.
— With files from Phil Carpenter and Mike Armstrong
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