When firefighters arrived after 1:30 p.m., the truck's cab was burning and flames were spreading to the garbage container, Deputy Chief Edward Prescott said.
Two engines responded to fight a "deep seated fire in the bottom of the container," Prescott said in a release.
A tow truck, escorted by a fire engine and a police car, brought the garbage truck to the Can Man Carting Facility on Meadow Street, where firefighters continued to fight the flames, Prescott said.
Typically, when garbage trucks catch fire, the burning load is dumped in a vacant lot and extinguished. But Friday's fire damaged the truck's electrical and hydraulic systems.
The fire is under investigation, Prescott said.
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