Fire in South Tahoe Refuse transport truck possibly caused by hot ashes or charcoal

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Quick action by South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) kept an overnight fire in a transport truck at South Tahoe Refuse (STR) contained to just one vehicle.

The emergency fire call was received by dispatch at 12:28 a.m. on Wednesday, May 31. The truck used to transport refuse to a landfill had caught on fire and flames were escaping the truck. According to STR President Jeff Tillman, the firefighters were able to get the truck moved to a safe location as they extinguished the flames. He said the burned truck is a total loss.

As crews were starting to slowly unload the truck they found what looked like charcoal from a barbeque or hot ashes from a fireplace, according to Tillman.

Hot ashes or charcoal should never be put into the trash unless completely sure they are no longer smoldering. Tillman said STR has a free hot-ash dropoff in order to keep them out of the waste stream. Some fire stations have free ash cans, or they can be found for purchase at home improvement and hardware stores.

Hot ashes and charcoal are not the only things that cause fires. Rags for staining and lithium batteries in the refuse can also start fires, something they've had in the past at STR.

Tillman said this should be used as a learning experience for the community as what happened Wednesday morning could have been much worse.