Black Country 'lorry fire' turns out to be rotting mint and coriander
Firefighters were left scratching their heads when a reported lorry fire turned out to be a stinking batch of rotting herbs letting off steam.
Three fire crews were sent to Wood Street, just off the A458 in Lye, when the lorry fire was reported at around 6.20pm yesterday.
But the 18 firefighters soon discovered the lorry and its trailer were not on fire – but in fact were full of rotting coriander and mint inside a broken refrigerated unit.
The herbs were inside polystyrene crates stacked two metres high, which firefighters spent hours removing by hand before damping down the herbs.
West Midlands Police and West Midlands Ambulance Service also attended the scene and the road had to be closed due to the crates causing an obstruction.
The lorry is believed to be from France.
A spokesman from West Midland Fire Service explained: "We received a call a 6.21pm to Wood Street, in Lye, from the police to let us know that there was a lorry on fire, near to Black Country Jaguar.
"We sent three fire engines and a 4x4 brigade response vehicle – a total of 18 firefighters all together.
"The reported fire involved one 40-foot long insulated trailer with polystyrene crates carrying plants. The trailer had been separated from the cab by the driver.
"The crews used a hose reel and ladder to locate the fire from inside the trailer.
"At 7pm, the crews identified that it was polystyrene crates containing coriander, which they removed from hand from the back of the trailer try to find the source of the fire. They also requested to get a pallet truck to move the crates which had been taken out of the trailer.
"No fire was located and the containers in the lorry appeared to be giving off steam, it is possible that there was an issue with the refrigeration unit not working properly."
The spokesman added: "At 8.35pm they found the crates had rotting coriander and mint inside which was producing its own heat.
"Wood Street was blocked by all the containers the crews had taken off the lorry.
"The 40-foot lorry believed to be from France contained 30 crates stacked two metres high which had rotting coriander and mint plants in polystyrene packaging creating its own heat."
Crews were still at the scene at 11.05pm damping down but returned at 5.50am on Tuesday to use a thermal imaging camera and found no evidence of heat or steam.
