WHITMIRE — What could have ended in disaster was handled with quick response in Whitmire on Monday night.

Whitmire Fire Department Chief Michael Thomas said the department received a call around 9:15 p.m. Monday about a gasoline tanker truck at the Little Cricket in Whitmire that had fire coming from under the hood.

“Once we got there the fire was knocked down some from the driver after he got a fire extinguisher,” Thomas said.

Thomas said the fire was started by a short in the wiring from the headlights. The tanker was fully loaded with 8,000 gallons of gasoline.

Thankfully, Thomas said the fire was just contained to the hood area of the truck and when they responded, there were still flames, but they were to a minimum.

With the wreck in Columbia involving a gasoline tanker truck in May, Thomas said the situation Monday could have been very bad if the fire had gotten to the actual tank. The location of the gasoline truck was close to two buildings in town, Thomas said, which could have resulted in a larger fire if not stopped.

Whitmire Fire Department was the only department to respond to the scene. Consolidated Fire Department was dispatched, but Thomas said they were called off once they knew the fire was under control.

“With quick action from the driver and quick response from the fire department, a very big disaster was avoided,” Thomas said. “I thank God for looking over our town to keep something that could have been very bad from happening.”