ROCKINGHAM — Citywide leaf collection may take a little longer after one of the city’s two trucks caught fire early Tuesday evening.

City Manager Monty Crump said the truck, which has been in service since 1992, was destroyed shortly after being parked at the public works compound around 6 p.m., leaving only one truck to provide the service.

“The cab and engine department was completely burned and we do not know the cause of the fire,” he said in an email to city council members just before noon on Wednesday. “It is an insured loss.”

Crump said the leafer body has been removed and is being prepared to be mounted onto a new cab and chassis, which could be delivered within the next five to seven days. He said the transfer will be done with in-house labor.

“This will be an unbudgeted purchase,” he said, “but we have no other option given that we need another leaf truck and we need it as soon as possible given that we are in the height of leaf collection season.”

Since it is an insured loss, he said, the city will have to pay the difference between cash value and cost of new replacement cab and chassis.

“The city is self-insured through a municipal pool and the adjuster has not valued the loss at this time,” he told the Daily Journal. “Based on quotes received so far, the cost of new cab and chassis will be approximately $66,000 to $68,000, minus money from insurance settlement for insured loss.”

Crump added that the city has sufficient reserves to handle the expense without causing any financial hardship or any reduction in services.

Because of the setback, the city manager said the schedule will be “noticeably off” usual collection times.

“We apologize for any inconvenience to our citizens and customers,” he said. “Every effort is being made to replace the vehicle quickly so that our sanitation department may return to normal leaf collection as soon as possible.”

Leaf pickup has been a service provided by the city at no additional cost to residents — coming from the garbage pickup fee — for more than 30 years, Miriam Haire, administrative assistant for the public works department, told the Daily Journal last year.

She said leaves should be left loose, not placed in bags, because they can’t be mixed with household garbage when taken to the landfill.

Reach reporter William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 and follow him on Twitter @William_r_Toler.

William R. Toler | Daily Journal One of Rockingham’s two leaf collection trucks was destroyed by fire early Tuesday evening. The city is hoping to have a new truck in within the next seven days.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_leaftruck.jpgWilliam R. Toler | Daily Journal One of Rockingham’s two leaf collection trucks was destroyed by fire early Tuesday evening. The city is hoping to have a new truck in within the next seven days.

By William R. Toler

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