A driver at Joel Olson Trucking, Inc. in Longview, Washington, is being recognized for his heroic effort in diverting disaster for his company.
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On Thursday evening, Lance Corbett watched one of the trucks at Joel Olson, Inc. burst into flames. Not long after, the fire had spread to a second in a long row of tractors. As soon as Corbett saw this, he ran and jumped fearlessly into the second truck’s cab, where the passenger’s side door had begun to flame and burn. Corbett heroically maneuvered the truck away from the line of trucks, risking his own life to keep the fire from spreading.
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Corbett said he figured he had time to move the truck before its diesel tank caught fire.
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Not long after Corbett moved the flaming truck, firefighters arrived at the scene, where they began extinguishing the flaming tractors and called for backup in case the fire spread. In the end, fire destroyed one semi-truck and caused minor damage to two others. Corbett saved nearly a dozen Joel Olson, Inc. trucks, which usually haul branches, limbs and chunks of wood from logging sites to chip mills.
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According to Longview Battalion Chief Kevin Taylor, the fire’s cause is still unclear.
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“That whole tractor was just a fireball,” Corbett said, while staring at the mid-90s model tractor, which was completely blackened and charred due to the fire.