A bin lorry fire in Worksop last week required action from roughly 25 firefighters.
The fire on Monday 29 December took place in one of Bassetlaw District Council’s refuse vehicles, according to a statement from Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, which reveals that the blaze is thought to have been caused by a crushed lithium-ion battery.
To tackle the fire, teams used two hose reel jets, 16 sets of breathing apparatus, and drag rakes.
Cllr Darrell Pulk, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods at Bassetlaw District Council, expressed his gratitude for the ‘prompt actions’ of the crews and confirmed that skips, street sweepers and litter pickers had been used to clear the debris from the area.
Following the incident, the fire and rescue service have appealed to residents with a plea to ensure they discard batteries responsibly.
Station Manager Matt Nash said: ‘We attend far too many incidents like this, and they are completely avoidable.
‘Batteries, especially lithium-ion ones, can cause serious fires when damaged or crushed. We are asking residents to make it their New Year’s resolution to dispose of batteries correctly at designated recycling points.
‘Doing this keeps you safe and prevents dangerous fires happening in our communities.’
Cllr Pulk added: ‘I’d urge people to really think about what they are putting in their bins and please dispose of things with batteries like vapes for example at a proper recycling point. We were actually collecting dry recycling - there should have been nothing with batteries in any of these bins.’
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