Toasted Cheese

There was an unusual, tyre-related incident in the early hours of Tuesday morning when the eastbound carriageway of the A55 was closed at Colwyn Bay after a lorry carrying a consignment of soured cream cheese caught fire. The blaze was caused by heat from a burst tyre setting fire to the articulated lorry from Ireland. The lorry was gutted and two fire crews from Colwyn Bay and Conwy fought the blaze.

The A55 was reopened after a couple of hours but firefighters had to return to dampen down the smouldering wagon. North Wales Fire Service confirmed the blaze was confined to the lorry and the cheese did not spill onto the road. Fire safety enforcement officer Russ McGrath said a specialist recovery vehicle was sent to remove the load from the collapsed trailer because it was unsafe for crews to enter.

“The fire re-ignited because of high winds and the wind channelled through the underpass,” Mr McGrath said. “Once the boxes had been removed, we could then dampen down the load effectively and totally extinguish the fire. It is anticipated that the slip road beneath the lorry may be damaged by the intensity of the fire,” he added.