Hot mess: Garbage truck driver dumps load on Melrose Street after realizing trash inside truck on fire

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Scene of a trash truck fire on Melrose Street Thursday morning. Photo/Jeffrey Hastings.

MANCHESTER, NH – Quick thinking by a Department of Public Works trash truck driver helped save a city trash truck Thursday after he noticed the contents of the truck were on fire.

At about 10:20 a.m. Manchester Fire responded to the report of a fire inside a Manchester DPW garbage truck on Melrose Street.

The operator of the truck had noticed the fire in the truck, which was nearly filled from morning pick-ups. Using the training he had received he dumped the contents of the truck on the street and used the truck’s fire extinguisher to put out the fire inside the truck. He contacted the fire department, and crews arrived to extinguish the contents from the truck. As a precautionary measure foam was used on the inside of the back of the truck.
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Manchester Fire Department extinguishes fire inside a trash truck Thursday morning. Photo/Jeffrey Hastings

A front-loader was brought to the scene to separate the garbage so that fire crews could make sure it was extinguished. After crews were done extinguishing the contents, the load of garbage was picked up and hauled away.

Public Works Director Kevin Sheppard said the cause of the fire is not yet known.

“I am told the actions of the driver prevented serious damage to the truck. When he observed the fire he dumped the load and was able to use the truck fire extinguisher to put out the fire inside the truck. This saved the truck from extensive damage,” Sheppard said.

The truck is back in service with only minor damage to the paint, Sheppard said.


Jeffrey Hastings contributed to this report.

About this Author

Carol Robidoux

PublisherManchester Ink Link

Longtime NH journalist and publisher of ManchesterInkLink.com. Loves R&B, German beer, and the Queen City!