STOUGHTON - The Stoughton Tecumseh Fire Department (STFD) was called to a vacuum truck that caught fire near Sullivan Street and Highway 33 in Stoughton on Feb. 13.
The truck was parked in a vacant lot just off the highway, where hydro digging was occurring.
The operator of the truck was outside the vehicle, had his back to the truck and did not notice the truck had caught fire until Stoughton’s town foreman Tom Creighton noticed the flames.
With the strong wind blowing away from the operator, he did not notice the issue.
By the time the STFD arrived, the tractor unit was completely engulfed in flames and could not be saved.
According to Stoughton Fire Chief Pat Slater, the wind was blowing in the right direction, which saved the vac unit, as it was mostly untouched.
It did not take long for the STFD to gain control of the fire and quickly extinguish it.
The truck belonged to Midwest Industrial Services while doing work for SaskTel, running new fibre optic lines through Stoughton.
No one was hurt in the incident and the cause of the fire is unknown.
