Fire Fully Engulfs Semi Truck at Hartland Best Western

No one was hurt after a semi truck caught fire Friday morning in the parking lot of the Hartland . It produced flames noticed by passing motorists at the busy Old U.S. 23/M-59 intersection.

The blaze, which fully engulfed the engine, was put out in less than three minutes after firefighters from the arrived following an 8:30 a.m. emergency call, said Mike Bernardin, fire marshal for the authority.

The cause is believed to be electrical or mechanical, Bernardin said. The driver, a 27-year-old Pinconning man who was staying at the hotel, had started the engine to warm it up and had returned to his room to finish eating breakfast with another truck driver he was traveling with.

"He had no idea what was going on," Bernardin said. "He didn't know until he had a knock at the door. … There's no reason to believe it was suspicious."

The truck was hauling a tanker that hauls oil or gasoline, but it was empty at the time and didn't catch fire, Bernardin said. The semi truck has since been towed away, he said.