Great bales of fire are the last thing you want to see in your rear-vision mirror when you're steaming down the highway, driving a truck-and-trailer unit loaded with straw.
That was the dilemma faced by a Beckers Transport driver, who spotted flames coming from his cargo - 32 big bales of straw - as he was driving down Clyde hill on State Highway 8 yesterday afternoon.
Disaster was averted by the quick-thinking and speedy response of the driver and a nearby landowner, who watched the drama unfold.
Leon van Boxtel, of Clyde, was heading back to work after lunch when he saw the truck and its flaming cargo travelling along the highway and turning into Springvale Rd.
His property, at the intersection of the two roads, contains a large gravelled area ''and I thought that would be the best place to get it off the road and deal with the fire, so I undid the lock and opened the gates to the paddock so the truck driver could drive in there''.
The driver dropped off the trailer and then parked the truck, which had its entire load of bales on fire.
Mr van Boxtel used his digger, which was at the property, to push the bales off the truck and then to tow the vehicle away from the blaze.
''The fire brigade arrived and really took the sting out of the fire - it all happened in a hurry and I guess we were lucky the digger was there and the gravelly area came in handy,'' Mr van Boxtel said.
Senior Constable Mike Colligan said it was an excellent effort by the driver, by Mr van Boxtel and the fire brigade, to save the truck and the bales on the trailer.
''It was a case of everything being in the right place at the right time and a quick response by everyone,'' he said.
The truck driver, who declined to give his name, was shaken but uninjured.
His colleague, Beckers Transport bulk cartage and general cartage dispatcher Travis McLeod said the company was grateful to all those involved in the incident.
''The driver did a great job and he was very lucky about where it all happened. If it had been in a more remote place, there would be nothing left of the truck,'' Mr McLeod said.
''It was a bit nerve-wracking for him, so it's lucky he's got a good, strong heart.''
The truck was ''a bit frazzled'' but repairable, he said.
Clyde Chief Fire Officer Richard Davidson said the bales were dry and it appeared the fire had started after straw either blew on top of the truck's motor or on to the exhaust.
''The whole load was well alight when we got there and we had to hit it hard to knock it back as quickly as we could.''
