Firefighters in Victoria are applauding the quick actions of a garbage truck driver who, after noticing smoke billowing from his truck, drove it straight to the city’s downtown fire department headquarters. The Victoria Firefighters Association says the incident began around 6 a.m. Thursday, when the truck caught fire while making its waste collection rounds. “The driver noticed smoke coming from the truck and immediately called 911,” the firefighters' union wrote in a post on social media accompanied by a video of the ordeal. “Thinking on his feet, the driver drove straight to the firehall at 1025 Johnson St. and parked out front,” the union said. ‘One of our fastest responses’ Victoria fire Chief Dan Atkinson was in his office at the time and called down to the driver to tell him that fire crews were on their way out to help. “I went to my office window and looked out, and lo and behold right below me there’s a full-size frontload garbage truck with smoke coming out from his haul,” Atkinson said in an interview Thursday. “There was a pretty anxious and panicked driver walking around in front of the fire hall, so I opened my window and had a quick chat with him and I assured him that the crews were on their way down and we’d be taking care of it pretty quickly.” Firefighters were able connect hoses to a nearby fire hydrant and climb on top of the burning truck to extinguish the flames in what Atkinson described as “probably one of our fastest responses of the year.” “The emergencies don’t usually drive themselves right to our front door,” said Atkinson, who used to drive a garbage truck before becoming a firefighter. “Fire crews wasted no time and extinguished the smoldering garbage, preventing growth of the fire and ensuring minimal damage to the truck,” the union said. “Thanks to the quick actions of the driver and the swift response from the fire crews on duty, the situation was handled safely and efficiently.” No injuries were reported following the incident, according to the fire chief. “He made the right call and brought the emergency to us and it really helped things go smoothly,” Atkinson said. The Victoria Fire Department headquarters opened in 2023 on the bottom three floors of a 12-storey mixed-use development near the intersection of Johnson and Cook streets.
