Firefighters have issued a fresh warning to never bin a battery after a garbage truck caught fire in Newcastle.
Firefighters were alerted to reports of an incident involving a garbage truck at Wallsend about 8am on Thursday, September 17.
Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews from the Wallsend station rushed to the scene.
"The driver detected a fire burning within the truck's waste compartment and acted quickly, safely dumping the load onto the roadway to prevent the fire from spreading and causing further damage to the vehicle," an FRNSW spokesperson said.
The driver called triple zero and firefighters arrived a short time later. They extinguished the burning rubbish and prevented any further spread.
"Once the scene was made safe, [the] local council organised the clean-up and removal of the waste, allowing the roadway to be cleared and reopened," the spokesperson said.
Alexander Street was closed while the site was cleared but traffic has since returned to normal.
Firefighters took the opportunity to remind members of the public that lithium-ion batteries and other rechargeable batteries can ignite when they are crushed or damaged inside garbage trucks and waste-processing equipment.
They should never be placed in household garbage or recycling bins, the FRNSW spokesperson said.
Batteries from power tools, phones, laptops, e-bikes, e-scooters and other rechargeable devices should be taken to an appropriate battery recycling or household problem-waste facility.
The exact cause of the Wallsend garbage truck fire was not known at the time but firefighters said these types of incidents were a good reminder that what people put in their bins matters.
While the exact cause of this fire may not be known, incidents like this are a good reminder that what you put in your bin matters.
