8,500 LB Trash Compactor

Yep that's about right, a roll off truck pulls it on and dumps it, sometimes they will bring another empty and just switch it out. Hospitals use them too, I've seen thirty footers too, they have to be pulled onto a roll off trailer.

I used to do sales for a trash company and the version they had of this size had the final compacted compartment separate from the compactor and hydraulics part. They moved to this style where only the hydraulics were fixed and the compactor plus storage were taken away by the truck

Many of our supermarkets have those compactors also--have put out quite a few fires in them

Dan, what would catch them on fire on how you put it out?

If you look at pic 2 at about the center of the side on the angel you can see a plug. The fire department removes that and hooks their hose to it and floods the bin. Not sure if that's official but seen it done once from a job we were working on next to a loading dock at a mall.

the ones at the supermarkets have quite a bit of cardboard in them--so lit by employees smoking or vandals hanging out by them--they are usually behind the rear wall of shopping centers.
Most of them we put out by opening the dump doors and applying water
we also get quite a few dumpsters on fire at apartment complexs---those we usually just drown to put the fire out as the lids just flip back

I'm working on a project for FDNY currently and there is an alarm category all by itself called "Dumpster Fire" : )

Neil--we have alarm codes for all types
Signal 12--brush fire
Sidnal 13--structure fire
Signal 3--additional help needed
Signal 23--misc alarm
Signal 16---ambulance
code 36--pandemic response
and so on for boats,aircraft,mva,etc

Yes all kinds of codes - I just called that one out because it was amusing : ) There could be another called "Train Wreck" but not sure about that ; )
Which dept are you with Dan?