A waste solutions vehicle narrowly escaped an extremely hazardous situation as a broken lithium battery almost set alight the waste in the back of their lorry.
Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd say that their crew reacted extremely quickly when they noticed that waste had been set alight by a broken golf trolley battery on Ravelston Dykes at around 07.15am on Monday July 25.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) were notified of the issue and helped to extinguish the fire on Queensferry Road.
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Company director, Duncan Smith, said that the quick thinking of the driver allowed them to find a safe space to pull over and eject the load as “waste vehicles can combust very quickly.”
He shared his thanks with the SFRS and said that the situation could have been a lot worse.
He said: “Early this morning on collections, our crew emptied a waste container on Ravelston Dykes, which unknowingly contained a disposed Lithium Battery.
“The battery was damaged and set fire to the waste which had already been collected inside the vehicle.
“Thankfully our crew reacted quickly and the driver knew he had to move the vehicle to a safe location to empty the waste out. Away from properties, trees, pedestrians and vehicles.
“As soon as he found a safe location, which was on Queensferry Road, he pulled over to eject the load.
“The other crew member was on the phone to Scottish Fire Services who were on route to meet with them and arrived within minutes to put out the fire and make sure it was fully extinguished.
“We would like to send a massive thanks to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for their quick response and our crew for their quick, decisive action which saved a potentially dangerous situation.”
If anyone wishes to learn more about the dangers of lithium batteries and how to properly dispose of them, click on the link supplied by Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd, here.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: "We were alerted at 7.20am on Monday, 25 July to reports of a bin lorry on fire on Queensferry Road, Edinburgh.
"Operations Control mobilised two appliances to the scene, where a fire had been extinguished prior to our arrival.
"Crews checked for hotspots and made the area safe before leaving.
"There were no reported casualties."
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