Residents of Goodyear are witnessing a tech-forward approach as the city equips its garbage trucks with thermal camera systems to thwart the risk of fires sparked by improperly discarded lithium-ion batteries. According to KTAR, this fire detection technology, courtesy of a partnership with Seek Thermal, senses excessive heat within the trash compartment and, should temperatures hit the 200-degree mark, prompts an in-cab alarm to alert the driver.
The persistent issue of garbage truck blazes, with Goodyear experiencing five such incidents this year alone, has driven the city to take proactive measures to safeguard its fleet, the community, and its workers, three trucks suffered extensive damages and two were caught in time by quick-acting staff before they could escalate significantly, as Fox 10 Phoenix reported. These fires are not just a matter of cost, which can spiral to at least $150,000 per truck but also pose a significant safety risk.
Gus Plascencia from the Goodyear Public Works Department lauded the new tech as a preemptive strike against potential hazards. "It's going to give the opportunity for our operators to react when it detects a heat source and eject the load and have the fire department show up and put that fire out outside of the truck, preventing damage to the truck and damage to the community or even our own operators," Plascencia told Fox 10 Phoenix.
Going beyond mitigation strategies, Goodyear is also reaching out to the community to ensure proper disposal of hazardous materials, including those pesky lithium-ion batteries, which are often the instigators of these conflagrations. Adam Kurtz, solid waste superintendent for Goodyear, highlighted the risk of rechargeable batteries to the city's waste management system and urged residents to educate themselves on safe disposal practices through the city's online resources, as per KTAR.
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