Fire engulfing a trash truck - Advanced equipment deployed - Extensive usage required
In a significant incident on July 30, 2025, a fire broke out in a waste collection vehicle in Recklinghausen-South. The fire department was alerted at 14:50 and arrived at the scene located on "Im Reitwinkel" street, near a supermarket parking lot.
Upon arrival, the fire department immediately began cooling the vehicle and extinguishing it from above the load using foam from a turntable ladder. However, mixed waste inside the vehicle made it impossible to open and empty it for effective extinguishing.
To combat the situation, various options for emptying the vehicle were explored to extinguish any deeper-lying hotspots within the load. Additional personnel and special equipment were brought in, including a swap loader vehicle with a crane from the Recklinghausen fire department and the fire department from Gladbeck with a special cutting extinguishing system. Despite the availability of the Gladbeck fire department's cutting extinguishing system, it was not deployed.
The waste management company provided personnel and equipment (containers, wheel loader, small excavator) to assist in the operation. Besides the Recklinghausen Fire Department and Gladbeck Fire Department, the volunteer fire units Altstadt, Speckhorn, and Suderwich were involved, as well as the volunteer units from South and East who staffed the vacated fire and rescue station at Kurt-Schumacher-Allee. The Technical Relief Organization (Technisches Hilfswerk) also supported on site.
The rear door of the waste vehicle was forced open, secured, and the load removed manually. The extinguished load was then reloaded into containers by a wheel loader and a small excavator.
A waste container on a hydraulic arm, which was in the process of emptying at the time of the fire, had failed and posed an additional hazard. Fortunately, the police are investigating the cause and extent of the damage, and there were no reported injuries in this incident.
The operation lasted from 14:50 to 20:45, and two other smaller fire incidents (road surface fire on the A2 and a triggered fire alarm system) were dealt with without any particular issues.
For inquiries, contact Fire Department Recklinghausen Press Spokesperson Christian Schell at 02361-50 3010, 02361-50 3030 (C-Duty, outside office hours), or via email at [email protected].
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