Costa Mesa fire crews battle blaze that erupted inside a commercial trash truck

Firefighters were dispatched Monday morning to a vehicle fire at the intersection of Costa Mesa’s Placentia Avenue and 17th Street, where a commercial garbage truck had erupted in flames and had to be towed offsite to ensure public safety.

Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief Chris Coates said two engines arrived on scene shortly after receiving the call at 8:05 a.m. and immediately set to work extinguishing the blaze, which appeared to have taken place in the compartment of the natural gas-powered truck, operated by waste hauler CR&R.

Costa Mesa Police officers temporarily diverted traffic on Placentia Avenue for about an hour during the incident, while fire crews ensured the truck could be safely relocated to a nearby tow yard to complete their work.

Crews work at a Costa Mesa tow yard Monday to completely douse flames inside a commercial trash truck, officials reported.

(Courtesy of Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue)

“In coordination with the driver of the garbage truck, after determining it was safe to do so, CMFR crews followed the truck to a tow yard, where they safely performed additional complex tasks to gain access to the large compartment to fully overhaul the fire,” Coates reported.

From initial dispatch to knockdown took about two hours, he said. No injuries were reported to have occurred during the incident.

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