Driver safe after car fire on I-94 near Deerfield | News

DANE COUNTY (WKOW) — Lanes on Interstate 94 near Deerfield have reopened after a car fire shut them down for just over an hour Saturday morning and into the afternoon.

No injuries were reported.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the incident occurred at 10:45 a.m

Video from the scene shows emergency crews working to put out the fire while several other agencies are nearby. Videos recorded by 27 News also show the most important backups.

Lt. Caden Baumann of the Marshall Fire Department said windy conditions made the smoke worse.

“The smoke was actually blowing across the highway, so for the safety of our firefighters and pedestrians passing by, we decided to close the highway, just the westbound lanes, so no one drives through the smoke,” Baumann said.

Baumann said car fires pose a different type of risk compared to other fires, both for the people on the road and for the firefighters working on the scene.

“We have tires that can burst on us. We have other components in the vehicle that can burst on us. Some vehicles have a metal full of magnesium. Magnesium reacts with water, so if you pour water on it, it actually explodes,” Baumann said.

Marshall Fire Department officials say the cause of the fire is still unknown. The driver, who was the only person in the SUV, got out safely.