A coordinated effort by the Hamburg and Franklin fire departments to douse a fire in the cab of a full propane truck avoided what "could have been a devastating day for Hamburg," a fire official said.
The fire in the cab of the propane truck parked at Ferrellgas on Wallkill Avenue was reported at 3:48 p.m. Tuesday. Fire Chief Richard Padgett Jr. heard the fire call as he was traveling on his way home from work and went directly to the scene, said Assistant Fire Chief Charles Kazella. Padgett immediately called for assistance from the Franklin and Hardyston fire departments, he said. The burning truck, holding 2,400 gallons of propane, was parked in the yard of the propane gas company, about 100 feet from three main tanks that contained propane. Each of the main tanks holds 30,000 gallons of propane, said Sussex County Fire Marshal Virgil Rome.
The truck was also close to 50 to 100 portable tanks, but Rome said those were empty. There was no one in the truck when it caught fire.