By Julie BUTCHER

A local neighborhood was blanketed in smoke then rocked after a trash truck caught fire then its tires exploded on Monday morning. The incident occurred in the 3100 block of Montrose Avenue around 9:45 a.m.

According to Dan Bell, spokesman for the City of Glendale, the City of Glendale trash truck driver noticed that there was a fire in the hopper of the trash truck. He jumped out and saw that flames had engulfed the back of the truck. They then moved forward to front of the truck.

He attempted to extinguish the flames with a fire extinguisher. Unfortunately he was unable to and he called 9-1-1. Glendale Police Dept. and the fire department quickly responded. Upon their arrival, they discovered he truck was fully engulfed, causing the tires to explode. It appeared that two other vehicles were damaged; no one was reported injured. By 10:40 a.m., the fire was extinguished.

Nearby resident Alex Klumph said, “I heard three loud explosions and looked out my bedroom window and saw a plume of black smoke. The explosion shook my window from nearly two blocks away.” When asked whether the explosion was startling or annoying, he replied, “Concerning is the word I would use.”

“The driver did the right thing and because of his quick, safe thinking no one was hurt,” said Agent Ryan Gunn, GPD incident commander.

The truck and two private vehicles were lost in the incident. An investigation is underway.

  Alex KLUMPH, Julie BUTCHER