Sanitation: Trash truck fire caused by lead-acid batteries

Nov. 14--Updated 11:30 a.m.

A fire that started in the back of a garbage truck Thursday morning on King Richard Court in Jacksonville was extinguished quickly while the trash was removed and the cul-de-sac was cleaned.

The City of Jacksonville sanitation truck is also back on the road and finishing their pickup route, according to Sanitation Superintendent Michael Connors.

Connors said the fire started due in part to lithium batteries being thrown in the trash that was loaded into the truck. It is illegal to dispose of lead-acid batteries in a landfill, according to the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality. Once the batteries were pushed into the back of the truck with other flammable waste the batteries combusted, according to Connors.

"People just don't pay attention and put what they want in the trash," Connors said.

Once the three sanitation workers on the truck noticed the fire, they tried putting it out with a fire extinguisher from the truck, according to Connors and neighbors who witnessed the fire. However, the fire had spread enough that the fire extinguisher did not fully put it out, said Otto Daly, who lives on King Richard Court.

Daly noticed black smoke outside and watched the sanitation workers react to the fire from his house. Daly said the workers were on their phones immediately making calls and soon after a fire department engine arrived to douse the fire.

"They were very professional in the way they acted," Daly said. "Kudos to them."

The cul-de-sac was closed to traffic while sanitation staff dumped the trash to prevent the fire from spreading to the vehicle and the fire was quickly put out. There were no injuries, according to a press release from Jacksonville Public Safety.

Connors said the truck remained operational and the only damage to the truck were the graphics on the side, which were scorched off. After the fire was extinguished the workers got back on the truck and continued their collection route.

"I don't have enough trucks to not put that truck back on the route," Connors said.

Connors also commended his workers for remaining calm and professional to limit the damage. The lack of attention people use when throwing things away, he said, makes their job hazardous.

"That's why sanitation jobs are one of the most dangerous in the country right now," Connors said.

Reporter Kevin Vandenburg can be reached at 910-219-8453 or kvandenburg@jdnews.com. For digital subscription information, click here.

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Original story:

No injuries were reported from a Jacksonville sanitation truck fire Thursday morning.

Jacksonville Fire and Emergency Services responded to a report of a vehicle fire in the 100 block of King Richard Court in the Sherwood Forest subdivision just before 9 a.m. Thursday and found a City of Jacksonville sanitation truck emitting smoke, according to a press release from Jacksonville Public Safety.

The smoke was coming from the compactor area in the back of the truck, according to the release, and the cul-de-sac was closed to traffic while sanitation staff dumped the trash to prevent the fire from spreading to the vehicle.

The fire was quickly put out and there were no injuries, according to the release.

"The cause of the fire remains under investigation" Fire Chief Edward "Tee" Tallman is qupted as saying in the release. "We appreciate the teamwork of first responders and City personnel, which prevented the fire from progressing and engulfing the vehicle."

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