Seeing smoke coming from the back of his truck, it was then that he knew something had ignited his load and the load suddenly became engulfed. Acting quickly, he drove the truck into the street and dumped the burning garbage out and attempted to extinguish any visible flames on the truck. He then called 911 for assistance.

The driver also explained that he was not hurt and that no other property was damaged, because he was trained to take the truck to a clear location, so that the burning garbage could be emptied safely. After fire crews arrived on scene, the fire was extinguished within minutes, by spreading the garbage out and dowsing the flames with water.

The chief explained that something might have been smoldering from a previous pickup and as he emptied the last dumpster into his truck, the smoldering materials were allowed to erupt into flames.