A PILE of rubbish has burst into flames after a garbage truck was forced to dump its burning load at Swansea.
Firefighting crews were called to a parking lot near the wharf off Dobinson Drive about 7.30am on Tuesday, January 9.
A garbage collection truck working in Swansea had to dump its load when it started to smoulder.
Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) and Rural Fire Service (RFS) trucks were tasked to the scene and found the pile of rubbish engulfed in flames on the bitumen.
Firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze and remained at the scene after 9.15am, awaiting the arrival of a backhoe to clear the load.
Crews were expected to keep a close eye on the rubbish as it was reloaded, to ensure there was no reignition of hotspots.
It was not clear on Tuesday morning what sparked this garbage truck fire, but a FRNSW spokesperson said it was not an uncommon incident.
The spokesperson said the issue was usually sparked by batteries people had put in their rubbish bins.
They urged residents to keep batteries separate from general waste and dispose of them properly.
In December, there were two garbage truck fires in two weeks at Mayfield.
Emergency services were called to a steaming hot pile of rubbish after a garbage truck started smouldering in Robert Street about 11am Wednesday, December 20.
On Tuesday, December 12, fire crews had been called to Industrial Drive to deal with a similar incident.
