Three first responders were hurt last Friday when a garbage truck exploded in a Chicago suburb. Police in Illinois have shared a new video of the truck.
There are clips from a police officer’s bodycam in the video that show smoke coming out of the truck just before it blows up. A camera on the dashboard of a police car caught another video of things falling from the sky and hitting the roofs of houses and the ground.
Arlington Heights is about 25 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. The Arlington Heights Police Department said in a news release that the explosion happened last Friday around 4 p.m. while they were reacting to reports of a truck fire in Arlington Heights.
New footage captures startling garbage truck blast
As the police were checking out the scene, a part of the truck burst, hurting the officers with “flying debris and post-blast concussion.” They were taken to a nearby hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. Other emergency workers in the area rushed to help right away, and police said that “Arlington Heights Fire Dept. personnel aggressively attacked and contained the fire.”
In an update released Tuesday, police said that the two officers who were hurt are now at home recovering. They also said that a firefighter who was hurt in the event has returned to work.
“The explosion was important,” the cops said in a Friday news release. “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.
Video from a doorbell records the moment of the explosion
Video taken nearby and shared by Paul Garanzini shows the moment when a part of the truck burst, sending pieces flying into the air and making a big boom.
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.
Police said the “cause of the fire and explosion is under investigation, with the working theory being uncontrolled combustion in a garbage truck hopper, igniting Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) tanks.”
Police say that Groot’s insurance company has started a claim for property damage. Residents who were affected by the explosion should call (913) 491-2277 and give the claim number RC15285 to claim damages.
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