THE PUBLIC WORKS MAINTENANCE GARAGE FIRE DAMAGE IS ESTIMATED AT $4 MILLION DOLLARS. THE CAUSE AND ORIGIN OF THE FIRE IS UNDER INVESTIGATION.

 

THE PUBLIC WORKS MAINTENANCE GARAGE FIRE DAMAGE IS ESTIMATED AT $4 MILLION DOLLARS.  THE CAUSE AND ORIGIN OF THE FIRE IS UNDER INVESTIGATION.

January 30, 2015

EDISON -- As the investigation into the four-alarm fire that is estimated to have caused about $4 million in damage and leveled the Edison Department of Public Works maintenance garage continues, officials are working to ensure township services are not interrupted.

"My administration is working on contingency plans to ensure our streets are
maintained and our residents are safe," Mayor Thomas Lankey said Friday in a statement. "We are looking at a number of options."

Woodbridge sent salt spreaders to help Edison maintain its streets and other neighboring communities have offered assistance for snowfalls that are expected next week, the mayor said.

The fire apparently started inside the town's maintenance garage at 745 New Durham Road at 9:50 p.m. Thursday, authorities said..

The fire destroyed 11 public works salt spreaders with attached snow plows, three street sweepers, three repaving vehicles, a road maintenance truck and a fire engine that was awaiting repairs, township officials said.

The facility is insured through the Central Jersey Joint Insurance Fund, which will determine the value of the insured loss, officials said. 

Edison's fleet of sanitation trucks, its other public works vehicles and its supply of salt and sand are not stored at this site and are intact, officials said.

"We have different locations where we have different equipment, but we lost several things here," Council President Robert Diehl said. "Right now they are doing an assessment and inventory of what is left. We are working with the county and we are working with several surrounding towns who are helping us with contingency plans on how to maintain service with the loss of these vehicles."

Between 75 and 100 firefighters from Edison and Metuchen fought the fire, which was brought under control at 1 a.m. Friday. Crews from PSE&G were unable to secure a natural gas line to the facility until 8 a.m. Firefighters from other communities stood by at Edison firehouses during the emergency.

"I am thankful there was no loss of life or injury to the many firefighters who helped bring this fire under control as quickly and safely as possible," Lankey said.

The fire is under investigation, officials said.

"We're working with the prosecutor's office to possibly find the source of the fire," Diehl said.

This is second structural fire at the New Durham Road garage since 2012. Two other fires occurred outside in the adjacent yard, township officials said. None of the previous fires were suspicious, officials said. 

In June of 2014, a sanitation truck was destroyed after it caught fire outside and a second truck suffered minor damage. In March of 2013, a 50-by-50-foot salt barn and a few pieces of equipment were destroyed by fire. In February 2012, five sanitation trucks were destroyed outside in the yard after hours, an official said.

While conducting and maintaining complete plow and salt operations for all streets and roads in the Woodbridge service area, Woodbridge Department of Public Works (DPW) also assisted Edison with its plowing and salting operations Friday morning, spokesman John Hagerty said in an email Friday.

"Woodbridge DPW sent two triaxle dump trucks, four seven-yard dump trucks and one supervisor's pickup with a spreader," he said. "All trucks were equipped with plows and salt spreaders and loaded with salt from the Woodbridge salt reserve."

Woodbridge DPW drivers manned the vehicles with drivers from Edison to direct the trucks on the routes.

"Woodbridge trucks were equipped with handheld radios so Edison supervisors could communicate with the vehicles," Hagerty said, adding that Edison did open its salt yard to supply trucks with additional salt.

Under mutual aid provisions, Edison will cover any costs incurred by Woodbridge, Hagerty said.

Piscataway Mayor Brian Wahler said Friday that he reached out to Lankey and council members to ask if they will need any assistance this weekend.

"We'll try to help out as much as we can," Wahler said.

Wahler said that some heavy machinery can take months to replace.