A truck hauling circus animals caught fire along Interstate 69 in Grant County, Indiana, prompting police to close the highway amid a frenzied rescue. The Indiana State Police joined the Grant County Sheriff’s Office and few other agencies to save the circus animals aboard the burning trailer, including camels, zebras and a miniature horse. The rescue was a success and no animals were harmed in the fire; two officers were hospitalized for smoke inhalation and later released.
The Grant County Sheriff says the incident began when a trooper out on patrol saw a Volvo truck burning on the interstate at around 2 am. Both the Volvo’s cab and trailer were ablaze, and the truck’s 57-year-old driver told the trooper he was hauling animals for Shrine Circus. What followed was a scramble to pull the zebras, camels and horse out of the burning trailer, as seen in body cam footage:
The truck driver joined the deputies and troopers as they ran into the trailer. The fire had not yet reached the back of the container, where some of the animals had gathered. But the fire was creeping rearward and the trailer was already full of smoke when the truck driver and first responders went in.
After a brief struggle with the frightened animals, the entire pack was herded off the trailer unharmed. Deputies and troopers saved a total of five zebras, four camels and one miniature horse from the fire, which the Grant County Sheriff claims was caused by equipment failure on the Volvo. The truck driver had stopped to inspect the problem when the fire spread to the cab and trailer.
The Associated Press reports that the animals were seen roaming along the freeway, “munching on grass.” They were corralled by the police, where they awaited trucks sent by Shrine Circus to retrieve and deliver them to their original destination. The animals were en route from Florida to Fort Wayne for shows scheduled that weekend when the fire interrupted their travel.
After the circus animals were loaded on replacement big rigs and the truck fire was extinguished, the Indiana authorities reopened all northbound lanes of I-69 and travel near the 263-mile marker resumed by 6:30 am.
