The Maine Turnpike has reopened after a tractor-trailer caught fire near the Falmouth-Cumberland town line.

The fire broke out in the truck’s rear right brake assembly at about 9 a.m. around mile marker 56.

Traffic was shut down in both directions for about 15 minutes while crews applied water and foam to the burning section of the truck in the northbound lanes. The fire never threatened to ignite the truck’s load of coal ash, said Falmouth Assistant Fire Chief Jay Hallett.

State police stopped traffic about a half-mile away from the scene to give firefighters and apparatus room to maneuver. Traffic was no longer being diverted off the highway as of 9:40 a.m.. The southbound lanes were reopened earlier.

A representative of the Department of Environmental Protection said the coal ash did not pose a significant environmental hazard.