A Crystal City man’s pickup was destroyed when it caught on fire while he was driving south on I-55 in the Pevely area, and his daughter is seeking donations to help him replace his work vehicle and lost items.
Alicia Moore said her 61-year-old father, Kenneth Moore, is known as “Bruno the scrap man,” and he collects scrap metal and other items from area businesses. She said the fire destroyed her father’s business.
“He does free cleanout jobs for businesses,” she said. “Some pay him. Sometimes, he’s allowed to keep certain things to sell. He sells the scrap things he finds.
“The truck was burned to the ground. He lost everything, all of his tools. The $400 he made that day.”
Dunklin Fire Protection District Chief Brad Williams said the fire was reported at about 6:45 p.m. Sept. 15. He said the pickup was south of Hwy. Z on the interstate.
“It took us a little time to get there because of traffic in the construction zone,” Williams said. “Once they got there, they were able to extinguish it right away.”
Williams said I-55 was shut down while firefighters put out the blaze. He said there also was an accident on northbound I-55 at about the same time Dunklin Fire responded to the pickup fire.
“The highway was closed for 30-45 minutes,” he said. “Once the fire was out, one lane was opened for traffic. They were on scene until about 8:45 p.m.”
Alicia said she create an account on gofundme.com, called “Help Bruno Rebuild After Truck Fire,” to collect money to help her father replace his lost pickup and tools.
“I’d like to get to $5,000,” she said. “That would be enough for him to replace his truck and his tools.”
Alicia said her father often drives older model pickups, and he has had pickups stop working before while he was driving.
“He’s broken down on the side of the highway before, but nothing like this,” she said. “It’s always been fixable up to this point.”
Alicia said her father was not seriously injured in the fire.
“He had some smoke inhalation, but was OK,” she said.
Williams said no firefighters were injured. He said the Rock Community and Antonia fire districts assisted with the call.