IFD extinguishes van fire on 78 off-ramp

By Chris Sykes, Staff Writer
Irvington Fire Department responded to a report of a minivan that was on fire near the top of the Route 78 off-ramp next to the Pathmark Plaza shopping center on Lyons Avenue on Sunday afternoon.
Firefighters used hoses from one of their fire engines to douse the minivan. But despite their timely intervention and best efforts, the engine apparently exploded while they were there.
Luckily no one was injured, Fire Department officials said. The IFD responded after a state trooper called in the fire.
Witnesses at the scene told the trooper that they had seen a black male suspect pull up on the side of the off-ramp. The vehicle, they said, was on fire at that time. They also said they saw the man get out of the van, open up the side door and remove a large red bag and backpack and then walk away from the scene, leaving the burning minivan behind.
“It was a reported stolen car,” said Jim Suter, the township’s fire official. “Engine 42 extinguished the car fire on a Ford Windstar. The State Police had it towed and they are handling the investigation.”
The Feb. 28 fire was similar to a car fire on the Garden State Parkway that took place in 2008. Deputy Chief Pat Hand said typically with any kind of car fire on a highway, “don’t expect anything good from it.”
“There’s usually nothing left after we put the fire out and then we call whoever does the towing for the Parkway, and they come and get it,” he said of the Aug. 5, 2008, incident that involved a white Ford Taurus.

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