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Fire engulfs truck near NMC
Fire engulfs a pickup truck that was carrying two passengers last Saturday afternoon directly across the Northern Marianas College campus along Monsignor Guerrero Road. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
A fire engulfed a pickup truck that was carrying two passengers last Saturday afternoon just a few feet from the Northern Marianas College traffic light along Monsignor Guerrero Road. Nobody was injured but it created a massive traffic jam in the lane going up As Terlaje Hill.
The pickup truck was carrying two passengers, the car’s owner and one of his employees, at the time it was engulfed in flames. Fortunately, both passengers managed to safely get out of the burning car before the flames got worse.
Saipan Tribune learned on scene that the truck, which had a trailer for trash collection attached to it, was engulfed in flames possibly due to overheating.
According to a press release from the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, the department was called to respond to the burning car on Saturday, Dec. 17, at approximately 12:54pm. DFEMS teams managed to arrive at the scene soon after.
DFEMS spokesperson Rob Mojica said the officer who arrived on scene first confirmed the report that there was a vehicle near the NMC traffic streetlight that was on fire.
Responding DFEMS personnel report that the vehicle was fully engulfed inside the cabin and under the hood. DFEMS then worked to put out the fire, while police cars cordoned off the area and diverted the flow of traffic.
Responding officers noted that there were two individuals that were inside the vehicle before the fire broke out and they managed to safely get away from the vehicle, according to Mojica.
Mojica said that both men were seen by medics and had no injuries to report.
The all-clear was given at 1:06pm, by alpha shift commander captain, Juan-Climaco T. Laniyo.
The Division of Fire Prevention and Arson Investigation said that investigators arrived at the scene after the fire had been put out to conduct their investigation and assessment. The cause of the fire had yet to be determined as of press time and will be released at a later date and time.
As Terlaje Hill, specifically the traffic stop leading to NMC, is known to be an accident-prone are, with a car also going up in flames back in 2017 following a fatal car crash.
