First responders were recently injured while responding to an incident in an Illinois suburb where a garbage truck exploded. According to reports, two police officers and a firefighter were hurt while addressing a call in Arlington Heights outside of Chicago last week in which the truck had caught fire. Officials are still investigating the cause of the fire.
The Arlington Heights Police Department shared a press release on Facebook informing the community of the incident. “On December 6, 2024, at approximately 4:00 p.m., Arlington Heights Police and Fire personnel responded to a reported truck fire on Derbyshire just south of Euclid. Upon arrival. and while assessing the scene. a portion of the truck exploded. The commercial vehicle Is powered by Dy compressed natural gas (NG) and operated by Groor Waste Management,” the statement read.
Addressing the injuries that were sustained by the first responders, the press release added, “There were multiple first responders in close proximity when the explosion occurred. Two police officers and one firefighter were inured due to flying debris and post blast concussion. They were transported by Fire Department ambulance to a local Emergency Department with non-life-threatening injuries.” Continuing, the statement added, “Arlington Heights Fire Dept. personnel aggressively attacked and contained the fire.”
The statement from the police department highlighted the sheer magnitude of the explosion. “The explosion was significant. Truck parts were sent airborne, landing up to several blocks away. A shock wave caused substantial property damage in the immediate area. Adjacent single-family homes ha sections or roor and siding blown off. Windows were shattered. The first in fire engine had its windshield shattered and a cab-mounted public safety radio was knocked off the console Airbags on a squad car parked next to the engine activated and deployed,” the statement read.
In an update shared on December 9, the police department further thanked the outpouring of support in the wake of the harrowing incident. “On behalf of Fire Chief Lance Harris, Chief of Police Nick Pecora and the Fire and Police Department staff, we want to thank the Arlington Heights Community for the kind words directed at the wellbeing of our inured first responders. Both police officers are home recuperating and the firefighter has returned to duty,” the update said.
However, the cause of the fire was still under investigation at the time. “The cause of the fire and subsequent explosion remains under investigation. A working theory involves uncontrolled combustion within the truck’s garbage collection hopper wherein surrounding trash provided fuel to the fire. Heat rose to the roof where the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) tanks are located. The fire/heat ignited one or more of the CNG tanks causing a substantial explosion,” authorities said.
Footage of the explosion has spread across social media, garnering reactions from users. Sharing the video on X, one person said, “First responders on the scene of a garbage truck fire when it explodes in Arlington Hills Illinois. Pretty crazy stuff. Apparently this injured several people.” Another person weighed in, “Having been on the receiving end of some blasts, I can guarantee the concussive force messed up the responder shown.”
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Watch the shocking explosion below:
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.