Garbage Truck Fire Temporarily Trashes Main Street

By Andrew Gorosko

The discovery of burning trash within a traveling garbage truck resulted in the shutdown of a 1,500-foot-long section of Main Street for almost three hours on Tuesday morning, causing traffic tie-ups in adjacent areas and travel delays through town.

At 8:29 am, Newtown Hook & Ladder and Hawleyville firefighters were dispatched to Main Street, at its intersection with Hanover Road, where trash was found burning inside a garbage truck operated by Associated Refuse Haulers of 352 South Main Street. There were no injuries in the incident.

Main Street was closed to through-traffic from about 8:30 to 11:15 am between its intersections with Schoolhouse Hill Road and with Church Hill Road. During that period, the fire was put out and a cleanup project took place. Police created detours to divert traffic from the area.

After arriving at the scene, firefighters emptied the garbage truck of its burning trash and then put out the smoldering garbage with a spray of water.

But the water that ran off the large load of garbage bore a dark pink color cast, prompting officials to call in a state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) inspector to investigate whether the trash contained any hazardous substances.

Chemical testing at the scene showed that no hazardous materials were present, according to DEP spokesman Dwayne Gardner.

Mr Gardner said that the presence of some liquid latex paint in the garbage apparently caused the water running off of the fire to take on the dark pink color.

Some hot ashes that were inside the load of garbage within the truck’s trash bay apparently accidentally caused the garbage to ignite, he said. It would be difficult to determine where the garbage truck had picked up those hot ashes while traveling on its residential rounds, he said.

Deputy Fire Marshal Rich Frampton said that chemicals known as oxidizers, which were found to be present in the load of garbage, may have expedited the combustion within the trash.

Hook & Ladder Fire Chief Jason Rivera said firefighters used about 1,000 gallons of water from a nearby hydrant to extinguish the fire. The blaze occurred deep within the load of mixed garbage, requiring that the truck’s contents be unloaded onto the street for the fire to be put out, he said.

Firefighters used long hooked poles to pick apart and separate the burning material. The stench of burning garbage rose in a plume of smoke from the smoldering trash.

After the burning debris was extinguished, it was loaded into a 30-cubic-yard dumpster along the curb, filling the large steel box.

The water used to extinguish the fire had combined with certain substances in the trash to create a hazardous slippery film across Main Street near its intersection with Hanover Road. Town road crews came to the scene and sanded the street. That sand absorbed the slippery substances, after which the town used a street-sweeping machine to pickup the sand, thus removing the road hazard.

“People should be careful [about] what they throw in their garbage,” Chief Rivera said. The presence of hot objects in trash can create problems, he observed.

Police Officer Felicia Figol investigated the motor vehicle incident on behalf of town police, aided by Officer Charles Guernsey.

Officer Figol said police noticed heavy smoke billowing out of the rear of the garbage truck when they arrived. Officer Figol informed residents at #59 and #61 Main Street of what was occurring, advising caution.

Police told garbage truck driver Robert Hespelt, 56, of Monroe to get away from the truck, after which he moved away from the 2004 Mack vehicle.

“He stated that he picks up household trash and thought that there may have been ashes from a fireplace in a trash bag,” Officer Figol wrote in the report. The truck was not damaged by the fire.

Patrick Caruso, president of Associated Refuse Haulers, said Wednesday that some customer of the waste company may have cleaned the ashes out of their fireplace and inadvertently placed those ashes at curbside for removal by the company before those ashes were cold, resulting in the trash fire.

Mr Caruso urged that people who place their trash out for removal be more aware of the contents of their garbage.

“Be more cognizant of the materials you’re throwing out…Think about your ashes,” he said.

Mr Caruso added that the liquid latex paint that was found in the load of trash that ignited is a prohibited material for curbside trash pickup. But solidified latex paint is accepted by the waste hauler, he added.

Also, toxic materials are prohibited for curbside pickup, he said.

Mr Caruso said the company will remind its customers about its trash pickup rules.

“The public has to be aware of what they do…the stuff that they throw out,” he said, adding, “Thank God nobody got hurt.”