This morning's routine garbage pickup took a scary turn after improperly disposed of lithium batteries sparked a massive garbage truck fire in Port Chester.

"Probably was crushed in the compactor," Port Chester Fire Department Chief Angelo Sposta said. "Somebody threw it in the garbage."

Village fire and public works officials were called to the corner of Gilbert Place and Touraine Avenue around 8 a.m. Wednesday. Garbage collectors dumped the burning trash from the back of the truck onto the road as per policy, according to Port Chester Fire Chief Angelo Sposta.

"Could be a scooter, a toy, a battery-operated drill, something of that nature," he said.

Witness video showed first responders rushing to the scene and dousing the flaming pile of garbage with water, sending smoke billowing into the air. No one was injured, but at least one car and several utility wires were charred.

One neighbor was left speechless by what she saw out of her front window.

"I heard an explosion," Port Chester resident Rose Joyce said. "The bedroom is right here and faces out in the street, and I ran to the window."

Westchester County's hazmat team joined village fire and public works crews at the scene. They combed for hours through each inch of the trash pile to find and remove any other lithium batteries to prevent additional fires from flaring up.

The majority of the trash was cleared out a little after 11 a.m. and put in a special dumpster that will sit in the back of the Port Chester Department of Public Works yard for the next week before it's disposed of, according to Port Chester Village Manager Stuart Rabin.

Port Chester Sanitation Foreman Joe Mecca said the public needs to be more mindful of what they throw away.

"It's a danger from the chemicals people throw out, the batteries like he said, you never know what's in these bags," he said. "They have to be careful."

The small dead-end road reopened shortly before noon.

People looking to dispose of hazardous materials including lithium batteries can make an appointment at Westchester's Household Material Recovery Facility in Valhalla.