Fire officials said a trailer brake pad sparked the blaze that spread across the electric vehicles.
HOBE SOUND, FL — A vehicle carrier hauling six new Teslas caught fire late Friday on Florida’s Turnpike in Martin County, forcing the shutdown of the Turnpike and nearby lanes of Interstate 95 as crews dealt with heavy smoke and toxic fumes.
The fire near mile marker 120 brought traffic to a stop in a key stretch of South Florida highway and drew a large response from Martin County Fire Rescue. Officials said no injuries were reported, but the burning electric vehicles changed how firefighters handled the scene because of heat, smoke and hazardous material concerns.
Firefighters were called just before 11 p.m. Friday after flames broke out on the car carrier near Hobe Sound. Deputies found the trailer fully engulfed when they arrived, while the driver had already disconnected the truck from the burning trailer. District Chief Joshua Shell said a brake pad on the trailer hauling the six Teslas ignited and the fire quickly spread to the vehicles. “It was six Teslas that were on fire; it changes the dynamics of how we fight those types of fires,” Shell said. Crews faced a large fire load, strong heat and smoke that moved across travel lanes as the response continued overnight.
The fire closed both northbound and southbound lanes of Florida’s Turnpike in the area. A wind shift later pushed smoke and fumes toward Interstate 95, prompting officials to close northbound and southbound lanes there as well. Fire officials said the response was shaped by concerns about toxic fumes and other hazards tied to the vehicle fire. Viewer video from the scene showed flames rising from the carrier and smoke spreading over the roadway. Firefighters allowed parts of the blaze to burn down before moving in to extinguish it, a tactic used when crews face intense heat and difficult access around burning vehicles. The exact model types of the Teslas were not released.
The shutdown affected two major routes through Martin County. Florida’s Turnpike and Interstate 95 run close together near Hobe Sound, leaving fewer options when both roads are blocked. Emergency officials told drivers to avoid the area while crews worked at the scene. The Turnpike is one of Florida’s main toll routes, and I-95 carries local, commercial and long-distance traffic along the Atlantic coast. The fire happened at night, but the closure still caused a major disruption because both directions of the Turnpike were stopped and parts of I-95 were later closed as smoke conditions changed.
No crash injuries or firefighter injuries were reported. Officials first said the cause remained under investigation, then later identified the trailer brake pad as the source of ignition. The fire spread from the carrier to the six Teslas, according to fire officials. It was not immediately clear where the vehicles were being transported from or where they were headed. Officials also did not release the name of the trucking company, the driver or the owner of the vehicles. The fire did not lead to any reported arrests or charges. Any insurance or transportation review tied to the damaged vehicles has not been made public.
The response highlighted the added steps crews may face when electric vehicles burn in transport. Fire officials did not report that the Tesla batteries caused the first flames, but they said the type of vehicles involved changed the fire attack. Electric vehicle fires can involve high heat, chemical fumes and the risk of reignition, which can make them different from routine vehicle fires. In this case, crews managed the scene by controlling traffic, monitoring smoke movement and working around the burning trailer. The fire also showed how a small mechanical problem on a carrier can become a wider highway emergency when several vehicles are loaded close together.
By Saturday morning, both Florida’s Turnpike and Interstate 95 had reopened, and traffic was moving again through the Hobe Sound area. Fire officials said the scene was cleared after crews brought the fire under control and dealt with the remaining hazards. Photos from Martin County Fire Rescue showed the carrier and vehicles badly burned. The driver’s move to separate the truck from the trailer helped keep the cab from being consumed, officials said. Investigators were expected to review the trailer, brake assembly and burned vehicles as part of the follow-up.
The highway system was open again Tuesday, and no injuries had been reported in the Turnpike fire. The next public step is any final report from fire officials or investigators on the trailer failure and the full extent of the damage.
Author note: Last updated June 23, 2026.