VANCOUVER -- A garbage truck caught fire near the Burnaby-Vancouver border Wednesday afternoon, and crews had to wait to put it out because of live wires that had fallen down over the vehicle.
Burnaby Fire Department Capt. Jason Phillips said firefighters were called to the scene in the 3700 block of Fir Street in Burnaby, near Boundary Road, around 3 p.m.
When they arrived, they found a garbage truck "fully involved," but they couldn't attack the fire right away.
"It had clipped some wires on the way down," Phillips said. "Wires were down laying over on top of the truck, which made it very dangerous for the driver inside. The people in the houses were evacuated. Everybody stayed back and we waited for hydro to get here."
He said BC Hydro "did a great job" getting to the scene quickly to shut down power and allow crews to work on putting out the blaze.
The driver was fortunate to get out of the truck without any injuries from either the fire or the downed power lines, Phillips said.
