GASTON – An early morning fire near here Saturday at the Pilot Travel Center located on NC Highway 48 and I-95 in Gaston consumed a tractor trailer from Maine.

According to information provided by Gaston Fire & Rescue, emergency crews arrived shortly past 2:30 a.m. to find an 18-wheeler fully engulfed in flames.

Gaston Rescue & Fire Chief Ed Porter Jr. said the truck was en route to Florida and was carrying 60,000 pounds of assorted candy.

“During the time of the fire, the driver was sleeping in his cab and was awakened to the sight of flames,” Porter stated. “The driver escaped the rig uninjured and quickly alerted drivers stationed next to his truck.”

Fire crews from Gaston Fire & Rescue and Garysburg Fire Department quickly extinguished the blaze in the cab area of the rig, only to find that the contents of the trailer were also on fire.

Emergency crews remained on scene for approximately five hours.