On The Job: New Jersey

Dumpster Fire Results in $2 Million Westwood Loss

By Harvey Eisner

Two hundred firefighters from 12 departments fought a suspicious fire that destroyed eight stores in Westwood, New Jersey, on May 14,1982. The stubborn fire, which spread through a common cockloft, caused $2 million in damages. Firefighters had extreme difficulty in confining the fire due to the many false ceilings involved.

The Westwood Fire Department, under the command of Chief Jim Mawdsley, has 62 active volunteer firefighters who operate one ladder company and three engine companies, one of which is also a rescue unit. They protect 11,000 persons in a five-square-mile area of northern New Jersey.

At 12:25 A.M., a passing motorist advised a Westwood police officer of a fire in the rear of the Town Diner on Kinderkamack Road. The police officer investigated the report and transmitted the alarm.

Assistant Chief Don Fournier saw the glow of the fire in the sky as he responded from his home two blocks away. Both Fournier and Chief Mawdsley arrived within two minutes, and found a wooden shed at the rear of the diner fully involved.

Behind the shed, which was used to protect dumpsters from weathering, was a complex of eight stores, over 50 years old. The brick complex was one-story high, and measured 200 by 200 feet. The diner, 40 by 40 feet, was five feet away from the other stores.

Peering into the windows, Fournier saw a light smoke condition in the rear of the hardware store. He ordered arriving engines to hook up to a hydrant and force open the doors.

Assistant Chief 2 James Hodges arrived on the scene. He recalled, "Lines were laid to the rear of the diner, and once the fire in the shed area was knocked down, I ordered a portable ladder to the roof of the hardware store. There was a window in the rear of the hardware store that faced the shed, and I could see a glow inside." Once on the roof, firefighters opened three large skylights, and fire started to vent skyward.

Lieutenant Bob Woods of Hose 2 directed members of his company to advance two hose-lines into the rear of the diner which was closed at the time of the fire. "There was heavy involvement in the kitchen area and in the dining room. It was extremely difficult to pull the ceilings. There was a suspended ceiling, two sheets of plywood and formica."

Stated Fournier: "Lines were advanced into the rear of the hardware store and the pork store after a delay in gaining access to the rear doors. The many locks and metal bars prevented a quick entry."

Chief Mawdsley had requested one engine from the Township of Washington to cover his empty station. Before the engine left its quarters, Mawdsley redirected it to the fire scene, along with another engine and rescue truck.

Recalled Mawdsley: "The rear of the stores was well involved. Paints, chemicals and turpentines stored in the hardware store fueled the fire." When Township of Washington firefighters arrived, they were directed to the front of the hardware store and ordered to protect the fire wall that separated the original complex from another one-story, 50- by 100-foot row of stores. Among the other stores in the original complex were a shoestore, beauty salon, stationery store and jewelry store.

Explained Hodges: "As the firefighters entered the pork store there was heavy smoke and no fire, but it was very hot. As the ceilings were pulled, fire was moving across the cockloft from the adjacent hardware store. In the rear of the pork store were freezers, meat vaults and areas separated by wall dividers. It was very hard for advancing firefighters to find their way. The fire burning in the ceiling, directly above the freezers, was impossible to reach. The freezers were built from the floor and touched the ceiling. The pork store was the last store before the fire wall."

Additional help was requested as the fire extended towards the front of the stores and spread unchecked to the remaining stores on Kinderkamack Road.

Mawdsley ordered Hillsdale's engine, ladder and rescue to set up at the intersection of the two streets and open up and operate in the stores located on the corner. Hillsdale stretched supply-lines and set up its ladder pipe.

Heavy fire blew out the front of the hardware store and rolled out into the street. The Emerson Fire Department arrived with two engines and a ladder company to protect the fire wall and assist the Township of Washington on Westwood Avenue. As additional fires were ignited following a gas leak in the pork store, the Public Service Gas Company was called to shut off the gas to the complex. Two engines and one ladder company from River Vale set up on Kinderkamack Road and operated in a lighting fixture store adjacent to the diner. Explained firefighter Paschal Facchini of Westwood Ladder 14: "A good portion of the ceiling had lighting fixtures hanging down on display. We had to remove all the fixtures before we could attempt to pull the ceiling." This added to the delay in exposing the hidden fire.

Old Tappan's two engines and ladder company, in the rear of the complex, operated in various stores and protected the rear of the fire wall.

Noted Mawdsley: "The fire was moving rapidly throughout the cockloft. One of the major reasons we couldn't get access to the fire was because of the many ceilings. We had to break through wire lath, plaster, tin and acoustical ceiling tiles."

He added: "As more 1-1/2-inch and 2-1/2-inch lines were placed into operation, we realized there was a water problem." Hackensack Water Company boosted the pressure in the area from the normal 100 psi to 129 psi. Engines from Park Ridge, Woodcliff Lake and Oradell were used to relay water from distant mains to engines close to the fire.

"The fire progressed so fast we didn't have time to set up a trench cut on the roof," said Mawdsley. "Every time we opened a hole in the roof, the fire was already past us."

As firefighters checked for extension and set up hand-lines, they found that the paint on the wall had blistered, and plastics stored on shelves near the wall had melted. Three 2-1/2-inch hand-lines were operating on the roof above the exposed store.

When fire broke through the roof, Mawdsley ordered all firefighters to leave the fire building and set up an exterior attack. Six deluge guns and five ladder pipes were put into operation.

During the exterior attack, part of the wall of the stationery store collapsed into the street. All firefighters were kept away until the stability of the rest of the wall was determined.

One of Hillsdale's trucks communicated with departments operating on other frequencies via a multi-channel radio. Chief Mawdsley instructed one of his firefighters to return to the fire station and assist the police with radio communications. From this position, the firefighter could relay instructions and messages to incoming units.

Closter, Upper Saddle River and Paramus fire departments responded with cascade systems and extra bottles of breathing air to replenish depleted tanks on the fireground.

Five firefighters suffered smoke inhalation and another suffered a muscle pull. Six firefighters who overhauled the hardware store in the latter stages of the fire developed rashes allover their bodies on the next day. This is believed to have been caused by toxic garden supplies kept in the store.

The last unit left the scene at 10:45 A.M. the next day.

Arson investigators reported that the fire had started in one of the dumpsters, and after involving the shed, spread into a back window of the hardware store.

Explained Chief Mawdsley: "The stores were renovated many times over the past 50 years. New ceilings were added, and the roof was very thick. The common cockloft running throughout the stores spread the fire very rapidly. Because of the great difficulty in getting access to the cockloft, we could not get ahead of the fire."