Crime & Safety
Live Chicken Truck Fire Closes NJ Highway: State Police
A New Jersey State Police spokesperson could not confirm how many chickens were lost in the fire.
WARREN COUNTY, NJ — A fire aboard a rig hauling live chickens shuttered a portion of Route 80 for about five hours early Wednesday morning, according to the New Jersey State Police.
The fire broke out on the trailer portion of a truck at approximately 12:05 a.m. on Route 80 East near mile marker 8.1 in Knowlton, Sgt. Alejandro Goez — a spokesperson for the State Police —wrote in an email statement to Patch.
Goez said the unidentified driver, who was heading eastbound when the trailer caught fire, was able to pull the truck to the right shoulder and unhook the trailer carrying the chickens.
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The driver was not hurt, Goez added. The cause of the fire, which is under investigation, remains unknown, as does the number of chickens lost in the blaze.
Knowlton Fire Department assisted at the scene, said Goez, with a partial lane closure as firefighters extinguished the fire.
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After the trailer was hauled off of Route 80 at about 5 a.m., the highway was fully reopened, Goez said.
Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.
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