Warning issued following near miss lorry fire in Edinburgh

A battery-fuelled fire was recently stopped in its tracks thanks to the intervention of Edinburgh Council’s waste team.

According to a statement from the council today, the ‘near fire’ occurred at the end of last month in the Polwarth area, with an incorrectly discarded battery having been identified as the root of the problem.

The local authority has revealed that smouldering rubbish was noticed by operatives, who stopped to expel the waste onto the street before the fire service arrived to extinguish it.

Transport and Environment Convener, Cllr Stephen Jenkinson said: I’d like to thank these colleagues for their quick actions as well as the fire service for stopping an actual fire from taking hold.

‘This incident is an example of why residents must be vigilant in making sure batteries are disposed of correctly, so this doesn’t happen again.’

Cllr Jenkinson added that the council has seen ‘several other incidents’ like this occur previously and highlighted the risk posed to communities, staff, and the environment.

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Photo: © Edinburgh Council.