City cautions residents about ashes after truck, dumpster fires this week

WORLAND — Fire and trash don’t mix, but every winter the City of Worland battle with dumpster and garbage truck fires, including two this week.

Worland Streets and Sanitation Supervisor Jeff Taylor said one of his drivers on Tuesday noticed smoke coming out of the top of the garbage truck “just like a chimney.” He said the driver stopped and with a fire extinguisher, was able to douse the fire. The driver then took the truck to the city shop and dumped the load on the ground so that the fire could be completely put out, before the trash load was loaded back into the garbage truck with loaders, Taylor said.

On Thursday at 8:35 a.m., the Worland Fire Department was called to the alley behind the 500 block of South 16th Street for a report of a dumpster fire. Taylor said Fire Chief Chris Kocher was able to determine that the fire was caused by hot ashes from someone’s wood stove or fireplace.

City of Worland Public Works Superintendent Brian Burky said, “People being careless adds to the cost. Solid waste is expensive enough.” He said Tuesday cost additional man hours with the garbage truck having to unload at the shop and then having to reload the trash. Dumpster fires, he said usually require new lids and a paint job in the spring.

Taylor said the city was fortunate on Tuesday that the driver saw the smoke and caught the fire quickly. Three years ago a new garbage truck was ruined when ashes started a fire in the garbage truck and it “torched the back of that brand new truck,” Taylor said.

There was no damage to the truck in Tuesday’s incident.

Taylor and Burky asks residents who use fireplaces or wood stoves to make sure their ashes are not hot when they put them in the dumpster. Burky said people can set them in a metal can outside for several days to cook off the ashes.

They also advise anyone using coffee cans or other cans for ashtrays to make sure those ashes are also cold and that all cigarette butts are completely out before putting either in a city dumpster.