Police, firefighters, and paramedics from Arlington Heights responded about 12:49 p.m. Friday, June 5, 2026 to a report of a garbage truck fire in the block of 00-99 North Lincoln Lane in Arlington Heights.
The first fire units on scene were Engine 2 and Squad 2, with both units arriving in about six minutes.
Upon arrival, firefighters discovered the garbage truck operator had dumped the load while the garbage truck was parked in the middle of the street. The driver/operator of the garbage truck stated that he saw smoke coming from the engine compartment so he dumped the load. After dumping the load, the driver put the fire out with a fire extinguisher prior to the arrival of firefighters.
Firefighters on scene discovered the fire was out, with no extension to the garbage truck vehicle. Firefighters did not need water to extinguish any fire.
A Groot representative arrived on scene and stated Groot would handle cleanup using a bobcat end loader type vehicle.
Investigation was completed, and Fire Engine 2 was the last fire unit to return from the scene in service.
The Arlington Heights Fire Department responded with a fire engine, a tower ladder truck, a rescue squad, an ambulance, a battalion chief, and a fire chief.
Wind direction at 12:51 p.m. was from the south-southwest at 10 MPH with no gusts.
Air Temperature at 12:51 p.m. was 74°F, according to the National Weather Service station at O’Hare International Airport.
DEVELOPING IF CONTENT IS AVAILABLE …
IMPORTANT …
Arlington Heights Police Department and Fire Department Dispatch is encrypted and cannot be monitored. Most incidents in Arlington Heights will only be published as breaking news thanks to dedicated and supportive citizens.
No citizens submitted eyewitness reports.
THERE ARE TWO MAIN OPTIONS TO SHARE YOUR EYEWITNESS REPORTS TO CARDINAL NEWS AND THE COMMUNITY: FASTEST and FAST
FASTEST: Easy Form – Easier Than Sending an Email
QUICK FORM FOR TIPS, PHOTOS, VIDEOS
FAST: Guided, Detailed Form for Comprehensive, Extra Details
DETAILED GUIDED FORM FOR TIPS, PHOTO, VIDEOS
All submissions are moderated, and may be edited or prohibited if not appropriate. CARDINAL NEWS reserves the right to delay or reject items that may cause security issues or privacy issues.
If you have a comment that you don’t want published, just type DO NOT PUBLISH at the beginning of the title.
For links to these forms and additional forms anytime …
Arlingtoncardinal.com/notifypanel
MAP INFO BELOW ADS …
Stay informed with news from The Cardinal’s Emergencies Behind the Scenes Facebook page — Facebook.com/CardinalEmergencies. Includes links to favorite public safety and emergency rescuers and product manufacturers and safety companies that have facebook pages. Submit your pictures or just stay up-to-date on with fire, rescue, EMS and police photo galleries. For a list of all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages, go to Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …
Help fund The Cardinal Arlingtoncardinal.com/sponsor
RELATED NEWS …
CARDINAL NEWS | CNG Garbage Truck Fire Saint James Church Parking Lot Arlington Heights

