Expensive eco-friendly garbage truck catches fire in central London
A half-million-pound electric garbage truck burned in Londonʼs West End causing major road closures. The incident adds to growing concerns about lithium-battery powered vehicle safety
A costly eco-friendly garbage truck (worth about 580k pounds) burst into flames near Oxford Street causing major disruptions in londons busy West End area. The incident which happened early monday morning forced authorities to shut-down several main roads
The electric vehicle – part of Sadiq Khanʼs green transport program – required special fire-fighting teams to handle the situation. Three units from Paddington plus a specialist crew had to use non-standard tools: disc-cutters and saws to reach deep-seated flames; the trucks drivers got out safely
This fire adds to growing e-vehicle safety worries. Last year saw about 270 e-bike fires across UK which is up 70% from previous year (when there were just 158 such incidents). The data shows that e-bikes make up almost 1/3 of all lithium battery fires; with e-scooters and e-cars making up most other cases
- Oxford Street closure
- Duke Street shutdown
- Special rescue unit deployment
- Toxic fume management
Westminster council started checking what caused this fire – theyʼre looking at possible electric system problems. The incident comes as UK fire services report dealing with 46% more lithium battery fires than just a year ago
