BORDENTOWN — About 35,000 pounds of produce caught fire on Route 295 early Thursday, which impacted the morning commute.

The brakes on a tractor trailer overheated and caught fire north of Route 130 just after 1 a.m., according to State Police spokesman Ted Schafer.

Carl Carter, of Deptford, got out of the cab and tried unsuccessfully to put the fire out with his onboard fire extinguisher. Before the fire could spread, Carter was able to separate the tractor portion.

Schafer said it was relatively easy for the driver to detach the trailer by using a crank built into the truck.

The right lane was closed for several hours to allow fire crews to put out the flames. Dump trucks were brought in to haul away the burned produce, which was deemed unsafe for consumption by Burlington County health inspector Tyrone Eugene.

Schafer said that all lanes were closed several times during the morning commute in order to move the dump trucks in-and-out.

No other vehicle was involved with the incident. All lanes were reopened around 11 a.m.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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