Big Rig Fire, Collision Causes I-580 Jam

A big-rig fire and an unrelated traffic collision caused a Friday afternoon traffic jam on Interstate 580, Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department Battalion Chief Joe Testa said.

At 2:55 p.m., emergency crews were sent to a report of a big rig on fire on eastbound I-580 at Isabel Avenue.

Testa provides the following recap:

The first unit arrived at 2:59 p.m. finding a big rig tractor involved in fire and spreading to the trailer. Firefighters were able to quickly knock down the fire which caused heavy damage to both the tractor and the trailer. The fire appears to have been started by the big rig striking and dragging a mattress that was in the roadway. No one was injured in this incident. Heavy traffic was created on Eastbound I-580 prior to Isabel.

Traffic was further delayed when a second unrelated incident was reported at 3:37 p.m. while firefighters were mopping up the big rig fire, Testa said.

Testa provides the following information on the second incident:

A vehicle accident was reported at eastbound I-580 at Airway Boulevard. This ended up being a two-vehicle accident believed to have been caused by the driver of one vehicle becoming unconscious due to a medical condition. Alameda County Fire handled this incident with one engine. I (the LPFD Battalion Chief) arrived on scene and determined that all other fire resources could be cancelled prior to their arrival. One patient was transported to the hospital by Paramedics Plus.