We had a big snowstorm this weekend in Green Bay. Something like 23 inches of snow fell in a little less than two days. It melted almost as fast as it took to fall. In 30 years, I don’t ever remember a snowstorm like that.
Monday morning I came in, eager to see how bad the scene was at the terminal. I could only imagine how many trucks had gotten stuck in our parking lot. I was actually surprised to see that not only were there no trucks stuck in the snow, but someone was able to clear my truck out of the spot I had left it a few days earlier.
Ready to get back into my normal routine, I climbed up into my truck to begin my day. I turned the key to the on position and woke the in board computer which had gone into sleep mode to conserve battery. After a few minutes of paperwork and chatting with a newly recruited driver, I began my daily walk around.
I check the tires, check the lights, and make sure nothing on this truck is going to kill me or anyone around me. Everything seems normal until I get around to the front of the truck and smell something weird. It kind of smelled like something was burning, but it was like a sour, chemical type of smell. I didn’t see any smoke though. Maybe it’s coming from up wind.
Thinking there is no immediate danger, I finish walking around the truck and start it up. It’s within a few seconds I see a faint whisper of smoke coming from within the engine compartment on the passenger side. I shut the truck off and set out to identify where the smoke is coming from.
It’s not long before I locate the source of the smoke which is a vent which is covered in about three inches of snow. It’s obvious that the snow is just dripping on to something hot, so I clear the snow away from the vent opening. Wait a minute, how could it be hot? The truck has been off for two days. I think I better find somebody and get a second opinion.
After discussing it with a veteran driver, we determined it was a good idea to contact the office staff and let them know what was going on. They suggested I call our maintenance department and take another truck for the night. I just need to go back to my truck and log out of the computer and grab the rest of my things. By the time I returned to my truck, it was completely in flames.
