Credit: Parkland Fire Company
A truck hauling 77,000 pounds of municipal waste caught fire Tuesday morning, sparking an all-day clean-up effort.
Parkland Fire Company Chief Bob Barnes said an off-duty Middletown police officer spotted a fire on a rear tire of the tractor-trailer around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday and called dispatchers. Within minutes, the truck had pulled off from southbound to the Route 1 Access Road near Neshaminy High School in Middletown.
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The fire spread from the tire to the undercarriage and then into the large load of household trash, Barnes said.
Middletown Public Works Department crews were called in and removed the majority of the trash so firefighters could put out the flames, the chief said.
The Access Road remained closed into the late afternoon while crews from PennDOT and the trash hauling company worked to prepare the trash for removal.
