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Bin lorry blaze averted in Middleton Cheney
06/05/2022
The fire started after a battery was placed in a rubbish bin
A battery which had been wrongly placed in a rubbish bin in Middleton Cheney almost caused a serious fire in a refuse collection lorry. It was only the quick actions of a member of the waste and recycling crew that averted an expensive and messy clean-up.
The first sign of danger was spotted by loader Leighton Cousins. He raised the alarm after spotting flames as he emptied a wheelie bin.
Driver Ian O’Driscoll immediately turned off the lorry and grabbed an extinguisher on his way to the rear of the vehicle. After discharging the extinguisher the smouldering battery was evident as the cause of the fire.
Following the incident West Northamptonshire Council is reminding people of the dangers of throwing batteries into their general waste. Instead, they should use the kerbside battery recycling collection.
Cllr Phil Larratt, WNC Cabinet Member for environment, transport, highways and waste, said: “It might not seem like much, but if that fire had taken hold, they might have been forced to eject their load or risk losing a very expensive bit of equipment, not to mention the risk of injury or worse.
“Then there’s the call out to the fire service, a hazardous clean-up, and a lorry out of action which has a knock-on effect on workloads and overtime costs.
“I’ll give the resident the benefit of the doubt and say it was a momentary lapse that, had it not been for a quick-thinking crew, could have cost the tax-payer tens of thousands of pounds.”
The battery is thought to have been from a cordless vacuum cleaner. Apart from car batteries, West Northamptonshire Council will collect all types of household battery if they are placed in a bag on top of, or next to, the recycling bin.
In another incident on the same day a crew put out the fire which was thought to have been caused by hot ashes.
Cllr Larratt added: “It might be a bumper weekend for barbecues, and I want everyone to remember they need to be very certain ashes are fully extinguished and cold throughout before they go anywhere near a wheelie bin.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam