Nashua Firefighters Extinguish Trash Truck Fire: Watch

NASHUA, NH — Nashua Fire Rescue was dispatched to 472 Amherst St. for a trash truck on fire near the building.

When firefighters arrived around 7:30 a.m., they found smoke coming from a truck and stretched hose lines to assure the building was protected. The fire was located inside of the hopper part of the truck — which was difficult for fire crews to access. Ladders were set up and hose lines stretched to the top of the truck.

Watch as firefighters work at the scene:

In ideal conditions, the truck would have been emptied into the parking lot so crews could have access to the materials burning. The fire, in this situation, had burned thru the hydraulic lines preventing the truck from being emptied.

Crews used hooks to remove trash from the truck, but due to the trash being very compacted it was difficult to remove the trash.

The company that operates the truck requested a front loader to the scene and a mechanic to repair the hydraulic lines. The plan is to repair the lines, dump the trash, and put it into other trucks to be hauled away.

Fires in trash trucks can start for various reasons but recently, lithium batteries have added to the number of fires.

The truck was about to empty a dumpster at the business when the driver noticed the fire. The driver safely left the truck and awaited the arrival of Nashua firefighters.

©Jeffrey Hastings www.frameofmindphoto.com/news.