Danbury Hospital Dumpster Fire Causes ‘Interesting Challenge’ for Firefighters

The Danbury Fire Department says that they faced an "interesting challenge" on Wednesday (March 13) as they battled a unique fire.

According to a social media post from the department, the city's bravest responded to the part of the hospital located at 24 Hospital Ave. as the result of an automatic fire alarm. When they arrived, the hospital security reported that a fire had broken out in a dumpster near what served as the old entrance to the emergency room, and that it was bringing smoke into the first floor. From there, the first responders brought the incident up to a first alarm fire, bringing in additional units to assist.

Once it was determined that the source of the active fire was a trash compactor that was very close to the building and would be difficult to extinguish safely, the firefighters were quick on their feet to react.

Very smart thinking prompted them to request a truck from Oak Ridge Waste & Recycling to come and quickly remove the compactor. Once the burning compactor was loaded up, the fire companies escorted the truck to the waste management company's lot, where the contents were dumped, spread out and further extinguished.

Scroll through the gallery for a good visual as to how the scene played out: