A Monday morning fire in Brussels served as a reminder to dispose of rechargeable batteries properly, as well as the equipment that uses them. Firefighters from the Brussels-Union-Gardner Fire Department responded to the blaze on Belgian Road near County Highway DK at approximately 6:30 a.m. According to BUG Assistant Chief Jim Wautier, the garbage truck driver noticed smoke emanating from the rear of the vehicle while it was on its route. The driver quickly turned around and dumped the truck’s load out of the car, though there were still some ashes on fire inside it. Firefighters used approximately 250 gallons of water to extinguish the fire inside and outside the truck. Among the burned garbage was a discarded sawzall with its rechargeable battery. In speaking with the owner of the garbage truck company, Wautier says that improperly disposing of rechargeable batteries and the problems they can cause are one of their biggest concerns.

Wautier adds that instead of throwing batteries into the garbage, you should take them directly to the garbage collection company, where they will accept them free of charge. Firefighters were able to put out the blaze in about 15 minutes, but stayed for about an hour to clean up the road after the burned garbage was removed.