At 3:19 on Thursday, October 31, Mercer Island, Bellevue, and Seattle Fire Departments responded to a semi-truck fire in the East-bound lanes of I-90 on the East Channel Bridge.  The driver of the semi was not aware of any problem until alerted by a motorist seeing smoke and flames coming from the rear of the truck.  The driver stopped and attempted to extinguish the fire, but was unsuccessful. The driver quickly disconnected the tractor from the trailer and moved away to a safe area.

Firefighters responded to the incident as 911 calls were received.  The fire quickly spread from the tires to the semi-trailer and its contents causing a large volume of smoke that interrupted traffic flow in all lanes of I-90. Firefighters requested additional units from Bellevue and Seattle to assist.

Arriving on the scene within minutes, Mercer Island Firefighters, with assistance from the Bellevue Fire Department were able to extinguish the fire in several minutes.  No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is mechanical / tire failure but is still under investigation by WSP.