Septic Truck Catches Fire on Halls Rd. in Old Lyme

OLD LYME–The local fire marshal said a blaze that ignited in the engine compartment of a septic pumper truck was contained to the cab by firefighters in a Halls Road parking lot Wednesday afternoon. 

Old Lyme crews were called to the Old Lyme Shopping Center at 1:16 p.m., according to Old Lyme Fire Marshal David Roberge. Lyme and Old Saybrook fire departments also responded. 

Roberge said the driver of the Finkeldey Septic Service truck went in to get lunch at Papi’s Taqueria, then came out to find the truck on fire. 

No other property was damaged, the fire marshal said. 

Representatives of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and a private contractor were still at the scene as of 4:30 p.m. cleaning up oil and firefighting foam, according to Roberge.  

He said the tank of the septic truck, which was empty, did not catch fire. 

“No poop was lost,” he said. 

Also Wednesday afternoon, fire departments from Old Lyme and Lyme were fighting a 100 ft. by 200 ft. brush fire on Burr Road in Old Lyme resulting from a lawnmower that caught fire. 

The call came in at 3:31 p.m., Roberge said.