A Remondis waste collection truck at Austinmer Beach carpark after its load caught on fire. Photo: Judy Bourke.
UPDATED 2 pm: Remondis South Coast Region manager Chris Wade said it appeared a lithium battery was the cause of the fire. “It’s essential that residents refrain from putting batteries of any kind in bins left for collection,” he said. “The risks of batteries igniting inside waste trucks are high, hence the situation we had this morning.” Mr Wade praised the driver for a “textbook response” and all who assisted.
10 am: A Thirroul resident has praised the quick actions of a Remondis garbage truck driver after his load caught on fire on Thursday (30 April).
Long-time local Judy Bourke was on the spot as the smoking truck pulled into the Austinmer Beach carpark about 8:15 am.
“Luckily there were no cars in the carpark because the gym equipment is broken so the regulars weren’t there,” she said.
The driver had noticed smoke coming from the truck as he was collecting rubbish in Oceana Parade.
He was able to quickly drive into the beach carpark and empty the load of rubbish which was well alight.
A large plume of smoke over Austi Beach as the fire is extinguished. Photo: Judy Bourke.
NSW Fire and Rescue were quickly on the scene. Photo: Judy Bourke.
Judy paid tribute to a team of people who jumped into action, including Wollongong City Council staff who were on-site to clean the pool and work on footpath construction.
“The council staff did traffic control and they all did a beautiful job working together,” she said.
Judy said NSW Fire and Rescue were on scene within minutes. As the fire was extinguished, Remondis staff used a front-end loader to scoop up the rubbish into a skip bin.
They also ensured water and rubbish flowing onto the beach was contained and removed.
Judy, who is a life member of the Austinmer Early Swimming Club, said within an hour of the fire almost all the rubbish had been collected.
“By lunch time you won’t even know it happened,” she said.
“They all did such a great job working together.”
Region contacted Remondis for comment.
