Gasoline tanker truck ignites I-95 crash in Norwalk

A multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 95 Thursday morning caused a tanker truck carrying 8,500 gallons of gasoline to burst into flames beneath the Fairfield Avenue overpass.

The intense fire, which produced billowing clouds of black smoke, appeared to damage the overpass and utility lines hung beneath it.

The accident, reported at 5:29 a.m. in the southbound lanes at Exit 15, closed I-95 in both directions.

Surrounding roads in the area, including Connecticut Avenue, also were closed, resulting in extensive traffic jams in central Norwalk and beyond.

At a news conference in Hartford, Gov. Ned Lamont said I-95 would remain closed for at least several hours while the accident was investigated and the condition of the overpass was determined.

None of the occupants in the involved vehicles were injured and the fire was mostly extinguished about 70 minutes after it started.

A firefighter was transported to Norwalk Hospital with a leg injury.

The Norwalk Fire Dept. said the incident was upgraded to a third-alarm assignment, with five engine companies and a truck company employed.

Numerous fire companies from Stamford also responded to the scene, along with a foam unit from the chemical manufacturer King Industries.

The chief engineer for the state Dept. of Transportation, Scott Hill, said at the Hartford news conference that the Fairfield Avenue overpass is stable and safe, but there is damage.

It’s not a “collapse issue,” Hill said.

Lamont said he received a call from U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and that “the Feds are standing by.”

Lamont said more details on the incident and when the interstate might reopen would be provided at around 1:30 p.m.

Officials said an estimated 6,500 gallons of the gasoline in the tanker burned off or spilled on the ground. They said gasoline ran into storm sewers that drain into the Norwalk River, so
absorbent booms have been placed in the river to capture it.