HIGH WINDS CAUSE PROBLEMS

Photos by: Dennis Symons

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (MERCER)—High winds caused havoc in the Central New Jersey area on Tuesday December 12, 2000. The Washington Township Fire Department responded to calls for assistance for burning power lines down and a roof that blew off a mobile home.

The fire department was called to the area of Richardson Road between the Interstate 195 Bridge and Edgebrook Road at 11:20 a.m. When firefighters arrived they found a large tree limb took down power lines between a poles causing a chain reaction knocking wires off poles for about ¼ mile. On one of the poles a power line fell to the ground and created a small fire caused by arcing. PSE&G was on scene in about 10 minutes and it took the power company over an hour to completely cut the power off in the area so work can begin on the clean up. The fire department cleared the scene at 12:47 p.m.

At 2:30 p.m. the fire department was called again to assist a resident on Oak Street in the Mercer Mobile Home Complex for a roof that had blown off. The fire department was able to assist the resident by placing plastic sheeting on the roof and covering it with bricks to hold the sheeting down. The resident was concerned that water would leak into the structure before the roof can be repaired later in the week. The fire department cleared the scene at approximately 3:30 p.m.