By Mitchell Clarke
Residents are being urged to rethink some of the products they’re chucking in the bin, after a garbage truck caught fire during a routine collection in Pakenham.
Four CFA vehicles from Pakenham and Nar Nar Goon were called to reports of a garbage truck fire off Ahern Road, near Don Jackson Reserve, at about 9.30am on Friday 26 July.
A quick-thinking garbage truck driver is said to have offloaded the contents of the truck in an empty carpark to avoid the possibility of the fire spreading to the truck or nearby properties.
Thankfully, there was no damage to the truck and no injuries were reported.
A CFA spokesperson at the scene told the Gazette that it’s unknown what ignited the fire, but said cigarettes or lithium batteries could be to blame.
He urged people to ensure they were disposing of their garbage correctly.
A similar incident occurred in the Fallingwater Estate in November last year when a garbage truck collecting hard rubbish caught fire.
