Talk about a rubbish start to the day.
A quick-thinking Queensland garbo was forced to “drop it like it’s hot”, after the load in his truck started smouldering on the Gold Coast on Thursday.
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Dramatic footage of the incident shows the truck racing to a carpark to dump its contents, before the rest of the vehicle could catch alight.
It’s understood the incident unfolded at the Oxenford Boat Ramp carpark, with the fire first breaking out near a petrol station.
The truck drove 500m to the near-empty parking lot with its load smoking, before the driver could offload it.
Fierce orange flames quickly consumed the pile of rubbish, which was just meters away from a parked car.
A Queensland Fire Department spokesman told news.com.au firefighters attended the scene just after 1.20pm following reports a pile of rubbish was engulfed in flames.
“The crew worked on that fire until 2pm,” the spokesman said.
The scene was made safe, with the garbage truck company left to manage the clean up.
Council workers also assisted, with the cause of the fire still under investigation.
Video of the incident, which was captured by a nearby driver, quickly went viral with more than 427k people viewing it on Instagram.
Many were quick to praise the driver’s response, with one person commenting he “deserved a payrise”.
Another suggested garbage collection companies start installing suppression systems or sprinklers in their trucks due to the risk of fire from incorrectly disposed batteries while others applauded the driver for “doing exactly what he was trained to do”.
A fellow garbage truck driver said the incident was unfortunately all too common, as people “never pay attention to the million dollar advertisements” about the correct disposal of flammable items.
“People think it’s easier to chuck it in the bin then take them to a place that disposes vapes and batteries … all fun and games till they get hit with the hefty fine it comes with,” he said.
The incident comes a week after a similar incident occurred in Melbourne’s western suburbs.
Several piles of burning rubbish were dumped by a local garbage truck on Leakes Rd in Melton earlier this month, after smoke was observed billowing from its load.
“Three CFA units attended the scene alongside Fire Rescue Victoria,” a CFA spokesperson said.
The smoking load was quickly brought under control.
Both incidents are a stark reminder about the dangers of incorrectly disposing flammable objects including vapes, batteries, chemicals, gas cylinders and paint.
Most of these items can be correctly disposed of by taking them to designated drop-off locations or council e-waste collection points.
To find out more, residents are encouraged to contact their local councils.