A semi trailer hauling Corona beer sustained significant damage on Friday after its rear tires caught fire, the Porter Fire Department said.

Fire Chief Lewis Craig told the Chesterton Tribune today that firefighters were dispatched at 10:21 a.m. to the 22 mile marker in the eastbound lanes of I-94. On their arrival, Craig said, firefighters found the rear of the trailer on fire. With the assistance of the Burns Harbor Volunteer Fire Department--which was originally called to the scene, before it was determined that the beer trailer was actually burning in the Town of Porter--the PFD extinguished the blaze, using around 3,500 gallons of water.

Craig said that the cause of the fire appears to be overheated brakes, which ignited the tires. He estimated total damage at $25,000 and noted that all of the rear trailer tires were destroyed and the back axle buckled.

How about a beer when the job was done?

“They wouldn’t give us any,” Craig joked. “I told the driver I want to take a taste just to make sure the beer was still good.”

The trailer is owned by Reliable Transportation out of Chesterton, Craig said.

Then, on Sunday afternoon, the PFD’s Dive Rescue Team scrambled on receiving a report of a capsized sail boat in Ogden Dunes. Craig said that by the time the team arrived on scene, the boaters had righted their craft and sailed further out into the lake.

Nevertheless, the team made contact with the boaters and asked them for a status report. All was well, Craig said, and the team cleared the scene.