Castleton Firefighters Dump Load to Extinguish Chemical Fire Inside Recycling Truck

Castleton On Hudson, NY - A discarded bucket of pool chemicals triggered a vehicle fire inside a municipal collection truck Thursday morning, which subsequently led to a ruptured water main during suppression efforts in the Town of Schodack.

At 10:37 a.m. on September 3, the Castleton Fire Department was dispatched to the rear of the Castle Ridge residential development for a reported vehicle fire. First-arriving units located a Twin Bridges recycling truck with an active, smoldering fire contained within the payload body.

Working alongside mutual aid companies, firefighters directed the truck driver to dump the contents of the hopper onto the pavement, allowing attack crews to spread, isolate, and thoroughly douse the burning refuse. A subsequent fireground examination revealed that a discarded bucket of chlorine had undergone an exothermic chemical reaction, igniting surrounding recyclable materials. Once extinguished, environmental containment and debris remediation were transferred to Twin Bridges and their contracted cleanup crews.

During suppression operations, firefighters tapped a municipal fire hydrant that triggered an unexpected subterranean water main break at the intersection of Maple Hill Road and Castle Ridge Road. Public works crews from both the Town of Schodack DPW and the Village of Castleton-on-Hudson DPW were dispatched to isolate the severed main and initiate emergency repairs.

Scene support and traffic control were provided by the Schodack Landing Fire Company, Schodack Valley Fire Company, and the Town of Schodack Police Department. No injuries were reported.