MURFREESBORO, TN - Summer heat is tough on everyone, but especially on firefighters in heavy turnout gear as they fight fires. As the temperature peaked at around 98 degrees, with heat index readings near 100, crews from the Murfreesboro Fire & Rescue Department responded to a John Deere tractor fire in the 500 block of S. Rutherford Blvd.

Public Information Officer Larry Flowers reported, “The fire is out. EMA has been contacted about oil and fuel spilling.” Crews battled the blaze while Murfreesboro Police officers blocked a section of the roadway, redirecting motorists to an alternate route.

The tractor destroyed in the fire was a John Deere 7810, powered by a 175-horsepower diesel engine. Manufactured between 1997 and 2003, this row-crop tractor was a valuable piece of equipment, selling for $80,000 in 1999. Although the tractor appears to be a total loss, there were no injuries reported in the incident.