Wires fall on truck, transformers burn
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (Mercer)--High winds knocked over a utility pole causing its live wires to come in contact with a tractor trailer and sent transformers crashing to the ground causing a fire. The 11 a.m. incident was caused by high winds created by a large storm system exiting the area on April 29, 2002. The driver was in the truck at the time and jumped to safety prior to police and fire department arrival. GPU Energy was notified of the live wires and responded to cut the power so the fire department could extinguish the fire. The NJ Department of Environmental Protection responded for the leaking and burning oils from the transformers. The Washington Township Police Department is investigating the incident.
Published May 3, 2002 Messenger Press:
Story by: Scott Morgan
| Gets jolted awake when a transformer blows down and explodes a few yards from rig. |
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WASHINGTON — A trucker dozing in his parked tractor-trailer Monday
morning was jolted awake when a transformer blew down and exploded just a
few yards away. According to Washington Fire Chief Al Walker, at around 10:30 a.m. the wind blew down the transformer pole, located in a vacant lot on South Main Street in Windsor, behind the Garden State Fuel gas station on Route 130 South. The crash caused the transformer to explode, which then knocked out power to neighboring businesses. The driver of the tractor-trailer, Thomas Shores, 46, of Martinsburg, Va., said he was resting in the cab of his truck after a haul from Winchester, Va., when the wires came down and draped his truck. "I woke up and heard a 'kaboom!' " said Mr. Shores, who escaped unharmed. The truck was not damaged. Eyewitness Rich Morgano said he was buying a part for his tractor at Ralph's Lawnmower store when "all hell broke loose." Mr. Morgano said by the time he ran to see what had happened, flames from the transformer had grown to "eight or 10 feet" and the smoke was so thick he could not see across the street. Kevin Coyle, president of Central Millwork of New Jersey, an engineering firm located in the Windsor Industrial Park just beside the vacant lot, said the power went out just as his firm was fixing a problem with one of his computers. With the power out to everything ("even the toilets"), Mr. Coyle had to close his firm for the day and send everyone home. The power stayed out for about an hour, according to Eileen Lubosco, owner of Ralph's Lawnmower. GPU Energy was called in to help clean up the site when the transformer burned out. There was no damage to any property. |
