Residents in the north end of North Bay were woken up by the sounds of an explosion around 3 a.m. as a transport truck went up in flames on Algonquin Avenue, between the Shirreff and McKeown Avenue.
No word yet as to the cause of the transport fire, but OPP confirmed no one was injured, including the transport driver.
Police shut down the portion of Algonquin Avenue which connects to Highway 11 North as fire crews worked swiftly to extinguish the transport fire.
A stretch of nearly two blocks of Algonquin Avenue is charred followed by a checker board of cardboard debris as the trailer came to a stop in front of the bus stop across from the Starbucks.
Fire crews, who were still putting out hot spots in the charred trailer at 6 a.m., expect that portion of Algonquin Avenue which runs parallel to the Sobeys Mall and the Century Centre Plaza to be closed well after 9 a.m. rush hour.
Jason Whiteley, North Bay's Fire Chief, confirmed to BayToday, a sister site of SooToday that "crews are still on the scene dealing with hazardous materials."
A detour has been set up near Stockdale Road behind the Century Centre Plaza to deal with the heavy traffic area of the city.