SIDNEY - A truck driver escaped injury after his semi-tractor-trailer caught fire on the westbound exit ramp of Interstate 80 in Sidney Wednesday night.

Sidney Volunteer Fire Fighter, Matthew Butts, says a HAZMAT team was needed to clean-up diesel fuel that leaked from the semi truck. Butts expected the exit ramp to be closed for a few hours.

"We responded, at approximately 8:30 p.m., to a report of a semi that was on fire," Butts said. "As soon as we got here, we observed the semi-truck fully engulfed and the occupants were out of the vehicle."

The unidentified driver, who was hauling rail car wheels on a flatbed trailer, was the lone occupant in the vehicle.

Traffic on I-80 was never affected by the incident. The north and southbound lanes on Link 17J were either closed or restricted for a period of time. 

The investigation continues, but Butts says these type of vehicle fires usually start because of a mechanical issue. 

The Sidney Volunteer Fire Department, Sidney Police Department and Nebraska State Patrol responded to the scene.

Wednesday's fire was the second vehicle fire in as many days. On Tuesday, the fire department responded to a car fire on I-80 at mile marker 54. All occupants in that blaze were uninjured.