Driver escapes injuries after trash truck catches fire
The driver of a garbage truck escaped injuries after the load he was hauling caught fire just before 9 a.m. on Friday along Highway 372 near Blagg Road, according to Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue Services Chief Scott Lewis
“The initial report was that there was a trash truck on fire,” Lewis said. “As we were responding, we were notified that the operator of the trash truck located a vacant lot and dumped the burning load onto that lot. There were no immediate exposures and crews arrived on location and quickly extinguished the fire.”
Crews battled the blaze on the lot in front of Star Nursery. Lewis said the initial investigation revealed that the ignition source appeared to be a battery-operated device that was deeply embedded in the trash.
He praised the efforts of the truck’s driver.
“There were no injuries and the driver just did a great job,” he said. “Instead of having a fully-involved trash truck with the hydraulics and all those risks associated, he found a safe spot to empty the load as they are supposed to do, and then it was just a matter of cleaning that up.”
Contact Reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com.
