The Madison Fire Department responded to a call from the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery construction site on campus Wednesday morning after a truck containing waterproofing materials lit on fire and caused traffic problems on University Avenue.
The incident took place at 11:35 a.m. at the construction site at 333 'N. Orchard St., near University Avenue.
According to a statement released by the Madison Fire Department, the estimated damage to the truck is approximately $70,000.
Traffic started forming at the site and trailed back to East Campus Mall. Officers cleared the traffic shortly after the incident occurred, but some students said they had to get off their buses and walk to class.
""When firefighters arrived from station four they observed the truck with a '""lot of fire coming from the vehicle,"" said Lt. Bradley Olson of the Madison Fire Investigation Division.
According to Bernadette Galvez, officer of public information for the '""MFD, firefighters saw flames over 10 feet high when they '""arrived. Construction workers warned the firefighters of hazardous materials in the back of the '""truck such as propane, gasoline and various waterproofing materials.
Olson said the officials were efficient in attending to the situation.
""They were essentially told that there were hazardous chemicals inside,"" he said. ""They asked for some additional resources and they were able to extinguish the fire within 10 minutes of their arrival.""
The officials who responded to the situation determined no one '""was injured in the incident, and the cause is currently unknown.
""From our perspective, we're going to try and find out how the fire started,"" Olson said.
Madison Fire Investigators are currently investigating the incident in collaboration with the UW Police Department.
