SECAUCUS – On Friday, Aug. 7 at 12:43 p.m., the Secaucus Fire Department was called to the Upper Hackensack River Bridge for a fire reported by the lift bridge operator. Upon arrival they found an approximately 20 x 10 foot section of the lift portion of a train bridge (mostly wooden planks used as a walkway for NJ Transit workers) involved in a fire. NJ Transit stopped train service on their main line of the rail system for an hour and 15 minutes until firefighters could extinguish the fire, then remove all their equipment.
The bridge is owned and operated by NJ Transit. The cause of the fire has not been determined and there were no injuries.
The Secaucus Fire Department used Marine Units 1 and 2, along with Kearny Marine 3, to fight the fire from the river. Also, from the land, they used Engines 1, 3 and 4 which stretched 1,000 feet of hose from the nearest street, Castle Road and Meadowlands Parkway.
This incident occurred only a few days after the major truck fire on the NJ Turnpike which caused significant traffic delays during rush hour. The bridge fire occurred in the middle of the day so it caused some minor delays.
SFD Marine 1 had undergone a major overhaul including a new fire pump about a week earlier; just in time to fight this fire.
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