According to Fire Chief H.M. Bottom, the department responded just east of the Eli exit on the Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Parkway where a semi and the semi bed were fully engulfed in flames. The driver had tried to extinguish the blaze, which was thought to have started from the heat in a wheel barring, but the fire quickly got out of control and caught the pallets that were being hauled on the trailer of the truck on fire. The truck was owned by Walbert Trucking Company of Glasgow, KY.

The Russell Springs Fire Dept. was assisted by the Eli Fire Department and the Transportation Department. Firemen were on the scene for about 3 hours.