'Significant' Garbage Truck Explosion Captured in Dramatic Doorbell Video: 'All of a Sudden, Boom!'
A firefighter and two police officers were transferred to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries on Friday, Dec. 6.
A firefighter and two police officers were transferred to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries on Friday, Dec. 6. ABC 7 Chicago/Youtube Garbage truck explosion in Arlington Heights injures 3 first responders:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/garbage-truck-explosion-121024-1-a5e43ea5aec848f1a231cfe8dad826b5.jpg "Garbage truck explosion in Arlington Heights injures 3 first responders, officials say")
Shocking doorbell camera footage has captured the moment a garbage truck exploded and injured a firefighter and two police officers in Illinois on Friday, Dec 6.
The video — which was filmed by a resident in Arlington Heights, Cook County — was posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, Dec. 7.
It showed a street in the quiet residential area moments before the unexpected blast filled the sky with a plume of gray smoke as debris was scattered.
cannot stop watching the video of a garbage truck exploding in arlington heights pic.twitter.com/e0T6FkAYR0— maggie (@maggiem413) December 7, 2024
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The incident happened after first responders arrived on Derbyshire Avenue at around 4 p.m. in response to reports of a garbage truck on fire, per a release from the Arlington Heights Police Department.
Moments later, a portion of the truck, operated by Groot Waste Management, suddenly exploded and injured two police officers and a firefighter.
The first responders were transferred to the hospital as a result of the flying debris and post-blast concussion but their injuries were non-life threatening, the release added.
As of Monday both officers were recovering, and the firefighter had returned to duty, local authorities stated NBC News,
The police also revealed that parts of the garbage truck — which was powered by compressed natural gas — landed up to “several blocks away” after the "significant" explosion. ABC 7 Chicago/Youtube Garbage truck explosion in Arlington Heights
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Dashcam video from inside a police car showed debris "raining down" into the street, per CBS News.
The police also told the outlet that homes in the vicinity were damaged with roofs blown off and windows shattered.
Paul and Sue Duchek — who live about 200 feet from the explosion — told ABC7 Eyewitness News that smoke was visible before the blast at their home.
"All of a sudden, boom! It just, it just came upon us,” Paul said.
"It made me literally drop, and I was on the phone with a client, and phone went out, and my client was trying to call me back, couldn't," Sue added, per the outlet.
Arlington Heights Fire Department personnel “aggressively attacked and contained the fire,” before a heavy-duty wrecker arrived at 7:15 p.m. to remove the garbage truck, per the police.
Though the cause of the blast is still under investigation, a "working theory" involves "uncontrolled combustion within the truck’s garbage collection hopper wherein surrounding trash provided fuel to the fire, according to NBC.
Arlington Heights Fire Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for information.
