April 21--Firefighters tore apart a burning truck filled with construction debris early Sunday during a four-hour firefight at a Santa Rosa trash and recycling yard.
The fire erupted in the 40-foot truck at Industrial Carting, a hauler-recycler on Santa Rosa Avenue south of Todd Road, Central Fire Acting Battalion Chief Mike Elson said.
A caller reported a possible dumpster fire at 1:05 a.m., but the blaze quickly grew, sending a 500-foot column of smoke into the sky, Elson said.
"The first units there quickly realized it was a lot larger than a dumpster fire," Elson said.
Crews used heavy equipment to tear apart the burning truck, packed with construction debris, as an engine with a ladder and hose doused the vehicle from above, Elson said.
Central Fire, Rincon Valley, Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park crews battled the blaze, keeping fire from spreading to large piles of trash and recyclables nearby. The last crew left at 4:30 a.m.
Industrial Carting's water filtration system kept fire-suppression chemicals from entering a nearby creek, Elson said. The fire's cause is under investigation.
Copyright 2013 - The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif.
