Fire Rescue News- Recycling truck fire creates big mess in Galloway
GALLOWAY TWP.--Crews in Galloway Township had quite a mess to clean up Wednesday following a recycling truck fire. Fire officials explain why they ordered the truck driver to dump out all the contents onto the street.
From tense moments to a big mess, it was quite a scene in Galloway Township Wednesday when a recycling truck caught on fire. “It actually pulled into the....Continue Reading
parking lot on fire already,” said Dave Steinmetz, the maintenance supervisor at Society Hill II.
“I had asked the driver if he could operate the truck,” said Chief Chuck Mackintosh, with the Bayview Volunteer Fire Company, “he said yes, so I had him dump the load in the street here.”
Fire crews sprayed down mounds of charred cardboard, saying in this situation, it was more effective to use foam rather than water. “The foam is an absorbent,” said Mackintosh, “it goes into the cardboard and keeps it wet - even though water is wet, foam is a better agent to extinguish a fire with.”
With the fire out, the task then switched to cleaning up the debris and trying to figure out how, and where the situation began. ”They pick up recycling from different areas and we're trying to find out where his last pickup was,” explained Galloway Township Fire Chief Ron Garbutt, “he was coming here to society hill to pick up their load when he noticed the vehicle was on fire.
It's still unknown what started the fire - that remains under investigation, but authorities say it could've been something as simple as a lit cigarette. “It could be a lit cigarette,” said Garbutt, “it was in the previous pickup and when he picked it up, it could've smoldered for awhile, but then with the truck moving down the road gives it some air, the fire accelerates.”
Authorities say luckily, no one was hurt, and while there was a big mess to cleanup, they say it's the best-case scenario for what could've been a very serious situation.
Officials say the health department was contacted as a precaution due to the nature of the incident. EarthTech, which owns and operates the trucks, said they were grateful for the quick response by the township
