February 13, 2026
A JJ’s Waste garbage truck was forced to quickly dump its load on Friday afternoon after a fire broke out inside its collection hopper.
The collection truck had been servicing the Blackbutt area.
The Queensland Fire Department were called to the hazmat incident on Emerson Road, near Boobir Creek Road, about 12:18pm.
Four fire crews were despatched to the scene; at 4:45pm, three were still present and Emerson Road remained temporarily closed.
A Council spokesperson said no injuries had been reported.
“Council would like to remind the public of the importance of correctly disposing of your waste,” the spokesperson said.
“If you are unsure of how to dispose of a waste item, please refer to Council’s Recyclopedia app or contact our waste team on (07) 4189-9100.”
The Recyclopedia app can be downloaded from both the Apple Store and Google Play.
Fires in garbage trucks are usually caused by items that can ignite or explode when compacted, including lithium-ion batteries from vapes, phones and power tools; partially empty aerosol cans or containers that contain inflammable liquids.
