A trash truck was forced to dump the load it was carrying in a church parking lot after it caught fire on the road.
The Flower Mound Fire Department responded to a fire in the parking lot of Flower Mound First Baptist Church along Timber Creek Road after trash in a dump truck caught fire Tuesday afternoon.
Crews were able to put the fire out once the trash was dumped in the parking lot.
Officials sifted through the trash, which was all recyclables, but did not find anything that helped them determine a cause.
Firefighters spread out the materials and wet them down to fully extinguish the blaze, and no injuries were reported during the incident.
The fire was in close proximity to Timber Creek Elementary School, and Lewisville ISD was alerted, but Flower Mound FD said the fire did not affect any school activities.
While no cause was determined, officials warned about the dangers of disposing of certain materials.
“This is a great reminder to always properly dispose of lithium-ion batteries,” said the department in a post to social media. “When improperly disposed of in household trash, these batteries can be crushed, punctured or overheated inside garbage trucks… that can cause a fire.”
According to officials, lithium-ion batteries can trigger a process called thermal runaway, which can set the disposed of batteries on fire.
The department is still investigating the cause of the trash truck fire, but offered some advice on where to properly dispose of lithium-ion batteries.
Flower Mound’s Public Works staff and Environmental Services workers aided first responders in their efforts to extinguish the parking lot blaze.
