M80 Ring Road fire: Massive truck fire closes freeway in Melbourne

A truck carrying oil burst into flames on a major freeway in Melbourne’s northwest early on Saturday morning, with commuters being diverted around the accident. The B-double truck caught fire about 6.30am, initially closing the Western Ring Road M80 in both directions. Fire Rescue Victoria crews arrived on scene within six minutes to find a semi-trailer with a mixed load alight, which had also created a running oil and grassfire. Firefighters tackled the blaze and the incident was brought under control just after 7.30 am. By 11am, Altona-bound motorists were still being diverted off the freeway. VicTraffic said hose heading towards Greensborough had been restricted to a speed of 40km/h. Crews remain on scene and motorists have been asked to avoid the area due to road closures and traffic congestion. “We’ve currently got a significant event happening, we’re going to have a large number of resources involved for some time and it’s going to affect traffic,” a Fire Rescue Victoria spokesman said about 8am.