San Jose Garbage Truck Fire - Frost Road 07/15/2026

I was sitting at home when I got a PulsePoint alert for a large vehicle fire in a residential neighborhood. Seeing that multiple units were automatically attached, I assumed it was a garbage truck fire and began getting ready. I got confirmation soon after and I was out the door. The driver reported dumping a cart, and a large plume of dust or smoke came out of the cart, immediately filling the entire hopper. Assuming it was just regular prohibited material (construction debris; concrete, drywall, sawdust, etc.), he continued to pack the load. The cloud did not dissipate even with the driver running the blade multiple times. Sure enough, the load began smoldering and it eventually ignited. The driver ejected the load onto the street before it could cause damage to the truck. Small vegetation and debris on the roof of the truck did end up igniting, but was quickly mitigated by the fire department. Even as I arrived 20 minutes after the initial call, the load was still smoldering. During the two hour period, it ended up reigniting twice across different hot spots. Great America Towing's ERU responded for clean up, and to flatten the load as the water was not penetrating to the core of the pile. After the fire was extinguished, CWS dropped a roll off container to clean up the load. Special thank you to the following for allowing me to film; Derek, CWS Supervisor Jose, CWS Mechanic Scott, CWS Driver Rosty, CWS Driver Great America Towing SJFD Engine 5 Enjoy the video! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapters: 0:00 Aftermath, overhaul of pile by SJFD Engine 5 0:28 Inspection of CWS #SJC-16, departure & escort to yard 1:26 Load reignition #1 1:57 Great America Towing ERU assisting SJFD Engine 5 3:45 Load reignition #2 4:20 Load fully extinguished 4:52 Arrival of rolloff CWS #SJC-61, rolloff container dropped 6:16 Great America Towing ERU continues cleanup 9:22 Great America Towing ERU wraps up cleanup, rolloff prepped for transport to yard 11:30 CWS #SJC-61 departs for the yard 11:56 Slideshow ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOCIAL MEDIA/MISCELLANEOUS LINKS ►Instagram:   / sanjosegarbagetrucks   ►Facebook:   / sanjosecagarbagetrucks   ►Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/people/1463061... ►SJRecycles: https://sanjoserecycles.org/ ►SJ Collection Day Lookup: https://gis.sanjoseca.gov/maps/servic... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMERS: ►ALL comments needlessly criticizing the performance of drivers, companies, or municipalities will be removed; this is a channel for documenting refuse trucks and related topics. Keep all criticism constructive. Comments displaying non-constructive criticism will be removed. ►That being said, this channel is PURELY for documenting refuse trucks and related topics in & around the City of San Jose. The content of this channel is recommended to not be used to reprimand/discipline drivers or employees for their actions. Content may however be used to educate/inform. ►If any content from this channel is to be used by anyone other than myself (i.e. news reports, etc.), leaving credit would be greatly appreciated. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ©2026 Garbage Trucks of San Jose. All Rights Reserved.