MORAN — A recreational vehicle caught fire Tuesday afternoon, shutting down a portion of U.S. 54 east of Iola.
The driver, whose name has not been released,and passenger had exited the motorhome before it ignited.
The fire apparently started after the driver had to apply his brakes while approaching another large truck on a bridge about two miles east of Moran on U.S. 54.
They were uncertain if the action caused the brakes to overheat, but within seconds, the rear of the vehicle had filled with smoke.
The driver came to a stop on the shoulder.
A truck driver following the RV saw the commotion and brought a fire extinguisher in an attempt to keep the fire from spreading, but was unsuccessful.
“We emptied the extinguisher and it was still burning,” the truck driver said.
The fire quickly spread throughout the rear of the vehicle. A pressurized tank inside the vehicle soon ruptured and exploded.
Ann Reninger, who lives nearby, heard the explosion.
“It sounded like a bomb,” she said. A second explosion followed seconds later.
She emerged from her home to see a plume of thick, black smoke and large flames billowing from the RV.
The vehicle was fully engulfed by the time firefighters made it to the scene.
Periodic popping sounds, coming from aerosol cans and other pressurized containers, were reported as firefighters from Moran and LaHarpe battled the blaze.
It took more than 30 minutes to douse the flames.
The driver and passenger, who reportedly were returning to their home in Nevada, Mo., from Colorado, were unhurt in the incident, although an ambulance was dispatched to the scene an hour or so afterward to take a male subject to the hospital after he complained of shortness of breath and chest pains.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the patient was either of the two RV occupants.
No injuries from recreational vehicle fire
