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Vapes spark fire in back of rubbish lorry

MAWWFRS Vapes are believed to have sparked a fire in the back of a lorryMAWWFRS
Vapes are believed to have sparked a fire in the back of a lorry

Firefighters emptied 30 tonnes of rubbish onto a road to put out a fire sparked by old vapes.

Crews were called to Newtown bypass, Powys, where a lorry was carrying smouldering recycling.

They got into the back of the vehicle to extinguish it then emptied it onto the road to damp it down.

The road was closed while this was done.

MAWWFRS Firefighters emptied the rubbish onto the road to make sure it was outMAWWFRS
Firefighters emptied the rubbish onto the road to make sure it was out

The fire service said: "This fire is believed to have been caused by disposable vapes which had not been correctly disposed of.

"Several disposable vapes were found within the lorry’s contents, which seemed to have been crushed and damaged, which would have sparked and ignited the rest of the rubbish within the lorry."

MAWWFRS The road was closed while the emergency services made the scene safeMAWWFRS
The road was closed while the emergency services made the scene safe

Natural Resources Wales, the police and council were also called to the scene on 7 June.

Firefighters left at 12:27 BST on 8 June.

The fire service said research by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and Recycle Your Electricals has found battery fires in bin lorries and at UK waste sites have rocketed 71% from 700 in 2022 to more than 1,200 in the last year.