Garbage truck catches fire in Rohnert Park, driver dumps load for firefighting effort

A garbage truck caught fire in Rohnert Park on Friday afternoon, but the quick-thinking driver dumped their load into a parking lot to give firefighters the opportunity to put it out.

Several people in Rohnert Park called 911 to alert authorities to a garbage truck on fire near the intersection of Rohnert Park Expressway and Labath Avenue.

Noticing the fire, the truck’s driver found a place to dump the cargo: A video posted to the City of Rohnert Park Police and Fire Facebook page shows the pile of trash in an empty parking lot.

From there, Rohnert Park firefighters were quickly able to extinguish the fire. The video shows at least three firefighting vehicles on hand while firefighters rake through the mess and hose down the piles. The garbage truck appears unharmed in the video, but the department’s news release did not specify whether there was any damage to the truck.

Once the fire was put out, Rohenrt Park Public Works and workers from waste disposal contractor Recology picked the trash back up again and disposed of contaminents, according to the news release.

Rohnert Park officials took advantage of the situation to remind residents to dispose of old batteries and flammable items with care. The city maintains a battery drop off box at the Department of Public Safety’s station at 500 City Center Drive.

The release did not specify the cause of the garbage fire.

You can reach Staff Writer Andrew Graham at 707-526-8667 or andrew.graham@pressdemocrat.com. Follow him on X (Twitter) @AndrewGraham88