Garbage trucks ravaged by fire
By RENEE FORD
renee.ford@
dailyexaminer.com.au
JR RICHARDS and Sons area manager Phil Baynham feared the worst when he received a phone call at 6pm on Thursday to tell him the company's trucks were on fire.
The company is contracted to carry out the Clarence Valley's kerb side rubbish collection, so the first thing Mr Baynham did was organise more trucks for yesterday morning's service.
A general garbage collection truck and bulk bin collection truck were destroyed in the blaze.
It is believed the fire was caused by an electrical fault in one of the engines. The matter is being investigated.
Mr Baynham said the damage bill was minimised thanks to quick action by the closest resident, Paul Ray and Michael Green, a nearby worker, who heard tyres exploding and alerted authorities.
It took three hours for firemen to extinguish the fire, but they minimised structural damage to the shed.
The estimated damage costs were around $500,000.
"It could've been a lot worse," Mr Baynham said.
"We had more trucks in at 9.30am yesterday, it was still business as usual yesterday."
