A recycling truck dumped its load after a fire broke out in the truck on Tuesday, June 17.
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It is the second kerbside collection truck fire in Shepparton in the past month.
Fire Rescue Victoria senior station officer David Pitcher said the truck had been collecting the contents of recycling bins on its regular kerbside collection round when the fire started about 8.45am.
The driver believed the object that caught on fire came from Swallow St, Mr Pitcher said.
Firefighters ensure the fire is put out.
The driver drove to a cleared gravel car park area on the corner of Archer St and Broken River Dve and dumped the load so the fire could be extinguished.
Foott chief executive Andrew Yeoland praised the driver for his actions.
“The driver did an excellent job following the correct protocol and procedure and safely tipped the load into a parking lot off Archer St,” he said.
“The driver’s actions prevented any serious injury or worse, not only to themselves but the community in general.”
Mr Pitcher said it was not yet known what had started the fire, but it was not believed to have been a lithium battery.
Firefighters douse the recycling load.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
While it was a recycling truck, Mr Pitcher said it appeared quite a bit of the load was made up of general rubbish, which had made the job of firefighters harder.
“It is fortunate there doesn’t appear to be any other waste hazardous to us or the environment,” Mr Pitcher said.
Greater Shepparton City Council resource recovery manager Liam Moller said while the exact cause of the fire was being investigated, he was concerned that not all items in the truck were recyclable.
“It’s clear there were several incorrect items in the co-mingled recycling load, including plastic bags containing general waste, textiles and soft plastics, which made the fire more difficult and dangerous to manage,” he said.
After the main part of the fire was extinguished, council and Foott organised a backhoe to help spread the rubbish so firefighters could get to any hot spots and extinguish them fully.
Foott helped to manage the clean-up, which was expected to be completed by the end of the day.
Firefighters ensure the fire is out.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Mr Yeoland said truck fires such as this were becoming far too common across Australia.
Hazardous materials such as batteries, vapes or anything flammable should never go in kerbside bins and instead be taken to the Shepparton Resource Recovery Centre.
“Despite repeated warnings, we are still seeing batteries, vapes and other hazardous items being placed in household bins that can cause fires such as these,” Mr Yeoland said.
“It is important to ensure that these items are disposed of properly at designated drop-off sites and not in your household bins because the risk of serious injury to our drivers or the community could be significant if a fire breaks out.”
Mr Moller echoed these thoughts.
“These kinds of incidents pose a serious risk to the safety of drivers, emergency services and the community, especially when they happen in residential streets,” he said.
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