IT'S not every day a burning truck arrives on the doorstep, but that's exactly what happened tonight at the Kangaroo Flat Fire Station.
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Driver Gavin Dwyer phoned about 9.30pm informing firefighters his truck was alight.
Mr Dwyer was at Big Hill when the Kangaroo Flat CFA received the call - but rather than pulling over and waiting for help, he continued to drive towards Bendigo.
In fact, he drove all the way from Harcourt to Kangaroo Flat while his truck was alight, to prevent it from completely burning.
"I was down in Harcourt and smoke and flames started coming out so I dropped the trailer and kept going," he said.
"I rang triple zero and I knew there was a fire station (at Kangaroo Flat)."
Mr Dwyer knew if he stopped moving, the truck would be gutted - and the only way to prevent this from happening was to keep the air flowing by continuing his journey.
"It would have been a shame for a good truck to go to waste," he said.
Mr Dwyer said a bearing seized, causing the oil seal to fail which ignited oil.
He said he could see flames shooting up behind him, but he risked his safety by leaving the cabin momentarily and dislodging the trailer before continuing along the Calder Highway.
Kangaroo Flat firefighter James O'Brien said trucks returned to the station upon seeing Mr Dwyer's truck arrive at Station Street, directly opposite the station.
He said Mr Dwyer did the right thing by continuing to drive.
Mr Dwyer said the ordeal had been stressful but he was glad he was able to save most of the truck.