Electric bike battery causes trash truck fire

DARKE COUNTY — An electric bike battery inside an electric bike resulted in a trash truck fire Friday.

The Darke County Sheriff’s Office and the Minster and Jackson Township fire departments responded to a truck fire Friday morning in the 3100 block of E. Shelby Road.

The Rumpke driver noticed the fire, exited the roadway, unloaded the trash onto the parking lot, and notified authorities, according to a spokesperson for Rumpke.

After investigating it was determined that a lithium-ion battery inside an electric bike had ignited in the truck’s load.

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“This is far too common of an issue,” Bridgett Biggs, senior corporate safety manager for Rumpke said. “In 2023, lithium-ion batteries caused 31 fires and were the suspected cause of 50 others.”

Rumpke advised that lithium-ion batteries should never go into regular trash or recycling.

Other items like charcoal embers, cleaning products, propane tanks, pool chemicals, and fireworks are also not accepted by Rumpke.

A full list of items that should not be included in the trash and recycling is posted on Rumpke’s website.

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