It took only minutes for flames to engulf this freight truck after a suspected electrical fault caused an engine blaze on the Kaimai Ranges yesterday.
The driver of the Freight Lines truck told firefighters he noticed a "fluctuation" on the vehicle's volt meter while travelling on State Highway 29 shortly before midday.
"Shortly after that, he looked out the back window and there were flames in the engine area behind the cab," Greerton Fire Brigade station officer Kevin Cowper said.
The driver had enough time to pull over and get out unharmed before the fire engulfed his truck and its curtainsider trailer.
He and other motorists tried to contain the inferno, which had reduced the cab to smouldering wreckage by the time firefighters arrived and put it out.
