ITHACA, NY (CortacaToday) – A quick-thinking worker avoids major damage in a fire near Cayuga Heights.

On Tuesday, October 8, 2024, firefighters were dispatched to Cornell’s A-lot for a reported garbage truck fire. Around 4:30 a.m., responding units found a large pile of recycling material ablaze in the parking lot. With the help of a loader supplied by Cornell, the pile was extinguished in about 30 minutes.

Officials with the Cayuga Heights Fire Department say the driver quickly drove to the lot and dumped the load after he noticed smoke coming from the truck in a residential area.