CHESTER – A Middletown-New Jersey freight train traveling
through Orange County apparently sparked brush fires in a series of locations
along its route on Monday afternoon.
Orange County Deputy Emergency Services for Fire Vini Tankasali said four
sites along the tracks caught fire and kept volunteers busy for hours.
The fires swept from Chester, to Washingtonville, Monroe and Sugar Loaf,
he said. “Approximately 18 to 20 departments came to assist and
were deployed at the different sites.
Smoke billowed up along railroad tracks (Photo: Jim Lennon)
Tankasali estimated 150 firefighters fought the blazes.
All trains were stopped during the firefighting operations. There were
no injuries.
County Executive Steven Neuhaus was on the scene at the Chester location.
