Warning after cause of refuse lorry fire revealed as discarded electrical items
A FIRE in a refuse lorry was caused by discarded electrical items, New Forest District Council has confirmed.
As reported in the A&T, the incident this morning (Thursday) occurred at 7.30am as rounds were being carried out in Beaulieu.
The council confirmed all staff were safe after the fire had been extinguished and rounds were continuing.
It has now confirmed the fire is believed to have been caused by electrical items including a coffee machine, tablet, and an electric motor, wrongly put into black sacks.
A spokesperson said: “No matter how small, electrical items should never go in your black rubbish sacks or clear recycling sacks.
“They often contain hidden batteries and can lead to serious and dangerous fires.
“Please help to keep our staff safe and always dispose of electrical items and batteries separately.”
Items should be disposed of at local household waste and recycling centres instead, it added.
It also thanked the fire service and NFDC staff for their quick response to the fire.