PEORIA

Hot mess: Republic Services garbage truck catches fire in Peoria

Meghan Finnerty
The Republic | azcentral.com
A front of a garbage truck is badly burned after catching fire.

A garbage truck caught fire in Peoria on Thursday morning, shutting down Cactus Road traffic for a couple of hours.

Peoria fire crews found the heavy smoke and flames in the front and rear of the Republic Services truck. The reason for the fire was not immediately known.

Peoria firefighters were concerned about power lines hanging near and above the truck. Tim Eiden, public information officer for Peoria Fire-Medical Department, said the crew from Engine 191 quickly knocked down the flames without incident.

Cactus Road was shut down from 79th to 83rd avenues for cleanup, Eiden said.

Smoke exposure was not a concern, he said, because the truck mostly was filled with cardboard.

The driver of the trash hauler was not harmed, Eiden said.

Firefighters work to knock down a fire in a garbage truck on Oct. 20, 2016.
Firefighters douse flames in a garbage-truck fire in Peoria.