SAN ANTONIO — Glenn Tobin said it was the smell of burning charcoal that gave it away.
The driver for the city's Solid Waste division said when he looked up and out of his truck "I was looking out back in the mirror and I could see the smoke billowing out of the top of the truck."
Tobin said his training kicked in and he drove to the closest, most isolated spot he could find near Babcock and Huebner.
"They always tell us make sure you go to a safe place," Tobin said, adding "I had to clear out of the neighborhood because you don't want to catch somebody's house on fire and and a truck costs $400,000 and I don't want to lose a $400,000 truck!"
Tobin said as a co-worker called the fire department for help, he dumped the burning load of garbage in a wide expanse of parking lot.
As he began to inspect the load, Tobin said he was surprised to find that someone put a BBQ grill with live coals in the trash.
Tobin, who has worked for the city four years, said he has never had an experience like this. Tobin said they are trained on how to react to dangerous situations and he is glad he did the right thing. Tobin said many people who grill don't realize that coals that may look dead will sometimes come back to life when they are dumped into the collection truck and exposed to air as they fly into the hopper.
"Once we dump it, it gets the air again and re-ignites," Tobin said.
Firefighters arrived quickly and blasted the burning pile of garbage with water and Tobin said once everyone was sure that the fire was really out, they were able to clean up the mess and go back to work.
Solid Waste Manager Ricardo Masters said with football season approaching, he is concerned that the scenario may play out more often.
"Football season is coming up and a lot of San Antonians love our football and we know we are going to be barbecuing. The main thing you want to do is once the charcoal is starting to cool down, water that down or let it burn all out until it is down to ashes. Don't throw it in the garbage can," Masters said.
Masters said their second biggest threat comes from people putting lithium batteries in with the rest of their trash.
"With lithium batteries, if you dispose of them in a garbage can, they get crushed and they can ignite with aluminum foil or other metals and that can cause a fire in the truck," Masters said.
"We have locations where you can safely dispose of lithium batteries at our Household Hazardous Waste collection facilities," Masters said, pointing out it is a free service.
"When we lose a $400,000 truck, it costs the citizens money and it also delays service to our customers," Masters said, adding that he considers Tobin a hero for acting quickly to prevent a huge loss when he was confronted with a frightening scenario.
"We don't want injuries to our employees and we don't want hazardous material out in the public, so Glenn did a great job of finding a great location to dump the material and put the fire out," Masters said.
Tobin said it is easy to call 311 and get advice about how to safely dispose of different kinds of waste.
"Batteries. Paint. Aerosol spray cans," Tobin said, adding "Anything that has the little fire symbol on the can? Don't throw it away. Take it to a hazmat area and dump it in a safe zone."
The city's Solid Waste Division website has loads of detailed data about how to safely dispose of various types of trash.