A firefighter and two police officers were injured in an explosion while responding to the scene of a garbage truck on fire in Arlington Heights.
The incident occurred on Friday, Dec. 6 at about 4 p.m. when first responders were at the scene of the fire, WSIL reports. The injured first responders were struck by debris from the blast.
The cause of the fire and explosion is under investigation, with the working theory being uncontrolled combustion in a garbage truck hopper, igniting Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) tanks, the police reported.
The Arlington Cardinal raises the possibility that water being applied to the CNG cylinders may have defeated heat-activated safety devices on the cylinders leading to the blast.
All first responders are recovering from their injuries.
Click here to read the Arlington Cardinal’s article on the fire.
