Staff report
A fire early Tuesday morning at the Richmond County landfill destroyed a trailer — but it could have been worse.
Members of the Northside Volunteer Fire Department responded to the landfill, landfill, located at 191 Walter Kelly Road. The sprawling facility is located between Cartledge Creek Road and U.S. Route 220 off of Dockery Road. The call to 911 was made by a county worker who had just reported to work, according to Jerry Austin Jr., Richmond County’s solid waste manager.
Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
The setting sun makes for a great view from the Richmond County landfill, but a fire early Tuesday morning disrupted the silence of the sunrise.
Austin said via email that the employee noticed an aluminum haul trailer was on fire.
“The fire apparently began when a citizen disposed of waste with embers located within,” Austin said. “Operating staff did not notice any smoke or burning material and the waste was placed on the trailer Monday evening for transportation to the landfill for Tuesday morning.”
Austin said the tractor attached to the trailer was unhitched and spared damage thanks to a fast-thinking worker.
Meanwhile, the trailer “appears to be a total loss.” No estimate was available.
Austin stressed that the landfill or convenience box sites “do not and can not accept burnt materials that are not completely extinguished. Burn barrels are absolutely not acceptable at any convenience site or the landfill location. All it takes is one ember to start a fire as this situation clearly illustrates.”
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