Fire fighters are praising the actions of the truck driver who leapt from his fully laden logging truck as the cab burst into flames.

The young man, who did not want to be identified, was heading towards Tauranga when he noticed the flames erupt in his cab as he drove up the Waikato side of the Kaimai Ranges.

See video below from the scene of the truck fire including interviews with eyewitnesses.

He was driving uphill and was about 2km from the summit when he noticed the flame.

The driver told SunLive at the scene that he could not believe it when a blaze erupted.

'I thought I better get the hell out of here.”