A garbage truck blew up last Friday in a Chicago suburb, hurting three people. Two of them were police officers and the third was a fireman.
Around 4 p.m. Friday, police and firefighters were reacting to reports of a truck fire in Arlington Heights, which is about 25 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. While they were assessing the scene, a piece of the truck exploded, according to a news release from the Arlington Heights Police Department. Officers were hurt by “flying debris and post-blast concussion” and were taken to a nearby hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
Police said that many first responders were nearby when the explosion happened and rushed to the scene right away. They were joined by “Arlington Heights Fire Dept. personnel aggressively attacked and contained the fire.”
Video shows the moment of the explosion
While digital and drone photos were being taken of the scene, including the garbage truck and damaged homes, the airbags on a squad car parked next to the engine were triggered and deployed.
“Significant” damage and explosion
The news statement said, “The explosion was important.” “Parts of trucks were sent into the air and landed up to a few blocks away.” There was a shock wave that damaged a lot of property nearby. Parts of the roofs and walls of single-family homes next to each other were blown off. Windows were broken. The windshield of the first fire truck to arrive was broken, and a public safety radio placed on the cab was knocked off its console.
Paul Garanzini shared video of the moment when a part of the truck burst. The video shows pieces of the truck flying into the air and then a big boom.
People who lived in the area that was damaged by the blast have been asked to call 911 “to properly document the matter.”
Police said that Groot Waste Management drove the truck, which was driven by compressed natural gas. The company also sent a clean-up crew and equipment to the scene, which “removed residual content” from the roads and homes in the area. It wasn’t clear right away why the truck caught fire and blew up, and Groot Waste Management didn’t answer USA TODAY’s request for an update on the situation right away.
