Improperly disposed of aerosols likely cause of fire at Southern Alberta landfill

A fire at the Foothills Regional Landfill this summer was likely caused by dangerous goods that were not disposed of properly. 

Firefighters from Okotoks, High River and Foothills County spent several hours fighting the fire on Aug. 22. 

Landfill manager Joe Angevine said it started after a compactor went over what turned out to be a load of aerosol containers. 

“Once (the containers) were all crushed, they started to react with each other, and started to explode and ignite,” Angevine said. 

He said he’s seen nothing like it in his more than 10 years as landfill manager.

“Something must have been flammable in there, because all of a sudden, the fire sprayed across the landfill,” he said. 

Improperly disposing of household hazardous waste comes with risks, including fires and pollution, Foothills County said. 

Household hazardous waste includes paint, cleaners, oils, batteries, lithium-ion batteries or pesticides. They can be dropped off at the landfill for safe disposal. 

“There’s no reason to put this stuff in the garbage,” Angevine said. 

Lithium-ion batteries often end up in the landfill and can start small fires when they break, Angevine said. 

“We’ve gotten quite good at extinguishing those fires, and they’re not usually a problem,” he said. 

He couldn’t say for sure what was in the aerosol containers that caught fire in August, but a number of them were found with their bottoms blown off. 

The containers were in a regular black garbage bag, and the equipment operator had no way of knowing what was inside.

“It was just assumed to have been general household garbage,” Angevine said. 

Some household hazardous waste, including batteries, can be taken to the Okotoks Eco-Centre or the High River Recycling Centre.