Fireworks trailer erupts on Tennessee highway, closing Interstate 75 lanes

Fireworks shot into the night sky over Interstate 75 near Ooltewah after a trailer hauling the explosives caught fire Saturday evening, forcing crews to close both directions of the highway and turning a routine transport run into a roadside hazard. The blaze broke out near mile marker 14, where cellphone video captured sparks and shells erupting above the scene as bystanders watched from a nearby overpass.

The Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department responded first and was joined by the Chattanooga Fire Department, the Catoosa County Fire Department and the Highway 58 Fire Department. Officials said the trailer was carrying fireworks and that all of them ignited during the fire, sending the contents exploding in all directions before crews got the scene under control. The northbound and southbound lanes of Interstate 75 near Ooltewah were shut down for a period of time while firefighters worked and traffic was held back.

No one was injured, a fortunate outcome in a fire that could easily have become far more dangerous. The footage showed the scale of the risk: fireworks continued firing off above the highway while responders worked below, a reminder that even a contained trailer fire can create an unpredictable blast zone on a major travel corridor. The incident also raised immediate questions about how the load was secured and what sparked the fire in the first place, but officials said the cause was not yet known.

Cleanup operations were expected to continue with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, which will have to clear debris and assess the roadway after the explosion. The incident landed just as Tennessee’s seasonal fireworks sales period nears, with retailers allowed to sell fireworks from June 20 through July 5 under state law. Tennessee also requires permits and licenses for fireworks retailers and display operators, a regulatory framework designed to keep commercial handling and public displays under scrutiny before the holiday rush begins.

For drivers, the scene on Interstate 75 was a stark example of how quickly a fireworks shipment can become a public-safety incident. For officials, it was a test of roadside response, traffic control and cleanup coordination on one of the region’s busiest corridors, where holiday cargo and high-speed traffic met in the worst possible way.