Dry Dock warehouse fire takes all night to put out
Firefighters responded to the Bayonne Dry Dock on Dec. 18 on the report of a structural fire. While no one was hurt, the three-alarm blaze took nearly a whole day to put out.
“The first arriving fire companies were confronted by heavy smoke and fire in the northeast corner of a warehouse,” said Fire Chief Greg Rogers. “The main body of the fire in the corner of the warehouse was extinguished in about one-hour, but remaining fire in an inaccessible section of the roof continued to burn, traveling to the center of the warehouse, and finally breaking through the roof.”
Rogers said firefighters were ordered to fight the fire defensively from the exterior due to exceptional hazards in the building, including the concern of roof collapse. Elevated platforms provided streams of water even as the roof began to collapse. Two fire boats from New York City were on hand as a precaution. The fire was finally brought under control at 8 p.m., but some fire department crews remained in operation throughout the night, extinguishing pockets of fire from an elevated platform truck.
The warehouse involved in the fire is used by the Bayonne Dry Dock Corporation for the storage of supplies and equipment, with one section used for office space. All of the Dry Dock workers were reportedly accounted for. One firefighter was sent to the hospital, complaining of stomach pain, and there were no further reports of civilian or firefighter injuries.
“This was a stubborn warehouse fire, with a collapsed roof working against us,” Rogers said. “The flames continued to burn under the collapsed roofing debris, acting like an umbrella and slowing attacking water streams from penetrating. Firefighters were persistent and worked hard to finally bring the fire under control, and I give them a great deal of credit because conditions were exhausting and temperatures were very cold.”
Fire investigators were at the scene, and the initial findings suggest that the fire may have originated in the northeast section of the warehouse, where numerous five-gallon epoxy paint containers were stored. The fire remains under investigation.
Fate of Off Track Wagering may be decided shortly
The fate of the Bayonne Off Track Wagering facility may be settled at the Dec. 22 meeting of The New Jersey Racing Commission, which is considering a year renewal on the licenses of four facilities from around the state. Reports earlier this year suggested that the Bayonne facility – which was supposed to serve as the southern most anchor for the Route 440 shopping district in Bayonne – is going to be abandoned. But the site has been placed on the commission’s agenda for possible renewal.
Student inventors from Bayonne appeared on NBC’s Today Show
Students who were featured in a recent “Bayonne Community News” article because of their invention will appear on NBC’s “Today Show with Matt Lauer” later this month.
The kids are students at Nicholas Oresko School in Bayonne, and finished in third place in the TeleBrands Green Products Inventors Day at the Liberty Science Center in November. They were guests between 10 and 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 21.
Casey Popowki, Maggie Bocchino, Vittoria Orlando, Danielle Kaniewski, and Nyla Mulcahy are sixth grade students who invented the “Swing Heel.” It allows women, when they get tired of high heels, to change to a flat shoe.