Lorry blaze scare for refuse workers
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A WICK council worker yesterday described a fire which engulfed his refuse truck as “one of the scariest moments of my life”.
Hugh Duncan was speaking after he and colleagues David Robertson and Ray Falconer had a lucky escape following the dramatic fire which happened just outside Mey on Friday morning.
Mr Duncan, who lives with his wife and family in Broadhaven Road, was driving the vehicle when he noticed a smell of smoke in the cab. He stopped the truck about half a mile outside the village and saw flames coming from below the engine.
Mr Duncan quickly realised how serious the fire was and he and the two other crew members evacuated the vehicle and contacted the fire service, while alerting other motorists and the public to the potentially dangerous situation.
The flames were just a few feet away from the diesel tank. “We knew it was quite bad and had to deal with it the best we could until the fire brigade arrived. We are taught how to deal with such situations and that training kicked in,” said Mr Duncan.
About five minutes later the diesel tank exploded and plumes of black smoke and flames were coming from the Mercedes truck.
“It was quite dramatic. We were well away at that time but could hear the explosion. When we saw the damage to the vehicle it was quite scary because we realised things could have been different in different circumstances. It could have been a lot worse,” he said.
“Everything happened so quickly. We had no chance to get our stuff out of the lorry and lost jackets, piece-boxes and flasks but, fortunately, we were all okay.”
Mr Duncan, who worked as a bus driver for a number of years before moving to the Highland Council, added: “I drove buses in frost and bad weather but this was one of the scariest moments of my life. We are delighted we are all okay and grateful for the training we have been given on health and safety. That helped us deal with the situation.”
Mr Duncan and his two colleagues, who are also from Wick, carried on working on Friday and, after a weekend break, resumed their duties on Monday morning.
The Highland Council’s Wick-based waste management officer, Kenny Gow, praised the men for the way they dealt with the emergency.
“We regularly run health-and-safety courses for our staff and they are told what to do in case of a fire. On Friday morning, the crew acted quickly and did what should have been done to deal with the situation,” he said.
Mr Gow pointed out the cause of the blaze is not yet known but stressed the vehicles are checked every four weeks.
He explained the refuse lorry was “completely destroyed” in the blaze. It contained around four tons of recycling material, including cardboard, paper, tins cans and plastic bottles, which was also destroyed in the fire.
Mr Gow said it was the first time a refuse vehicle has been lost in his 15 years with the local authority. The council is left with four trucks in Wick and three in Thurso.
A spokeswoman for the Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service said an emergency call was received at 9.23am on Friday. Fire engines from John O’Groats and Thurso were quickly at the scene. Four hose-reel jets and four breathing apparatus sets were used by the crews as they tackled the blaze.
Landward Caithness councillor Willie Mackay was one of the first to come across the fire – as was reported when North of Scotland Newspapers broke the story online at www.johno?groat-journal.co.uk on Friday.
He heard what he described as an “enormous bang” and saw black smoke and flames coming from the vehicle.
“I could not believe how quickly it went up. It just seemed to take a matter of seconds. The vehicle was completely destroyed. The crew had a lucky escape but they acted quickly,” said Mr Mackay.
He was impressed by the quick response from firefighters and pointed out the voluntary unit from John O’Groats was at the scene within 16 minutes of getting the emergency call.
