Firefighters responded to a two-alarm fire at a warehouse located in an industrial complex in Woodland Park, N.J., where they used various fire suppression tactics to extinguish the flames.
According to the Cliffview Pilot, the Woodland Park and Totowa fire departments were the first to arrive on the scene, while firefighters from the Little Falls, North Haledon, Passaic, Wayne and Clifton fire departments soon joined efforts. Located on 25 Andrews Road in Woodland Park, N.J., the July 18 fire at the Automotive Innovations building sent smoke into the air that could be seen from nearby New York City.
While the temperature was already stifling at triple digits, the heat from the blaze only added to firefighters' misery. A total of four people sustained heat-related injuries, including an employee at the plant, a police officer and two firefighters belonging to the Totowa and Woodland Park fire departments. Local stores donated bottled water to first responders while Franklin Lakes firefighters set up misting tents and a services truck to keep emergency workers hydrated.
"Our priority is to make sure we put out the fire, while at the same time keeping our firefighters healthy and well," Keith Kazmark, mayor of Woodland Park, told New Jersey cable news network News 12.
The cause of the fire
Officials suspect the fire began in an area with wooden pallets and stacks of cardboard boxes behind the facility. Crawling along the exterior wall, flames then spread to the roof where they dropped into the 9,000-square-foot warehouse according to testimony from an emergency worker, reported by the Cliffview Pilot.
The Alternative Press reported that it took firefighters about two hours to contain the blaze. A team of crews worked on the roof of the building searching for hidden hot spots to prevent a secondary flare up.
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