BAYONNE — With one firefighter treated for exhaustion, the May 25 fire at a power plant located at the International Matex Tank Terminal in Bayonne was a dramatic display of smoke that snarled traffic along nearby Route 440, and took hours for firefighters to contain.
According to Fire Chief Greg Rogers, oil used to cool wires at the CoGen Technologies plant caught fire.
While some residents feared that there might be a toxic plume because the fire seemed to originate in a location where chemicals and heating oil are stored, local officials said there was no danger in that regard.
Rogers said the facility is operated by PSE&G uses a kind of mineral oil to keep the electrical wires cool. This mineral oil was the reason the fire produced the large black plumes.
The fire which was reported at 7:14 p.m. appears to have started at a switching station. Firefighters were on the site until 4 a.m. this morning.
Mineral oil cause of generator fire in Bayonne
